Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh granted month-long parole, SGPC objects
Chandigarh/Baghpat, Jun 18: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walked out of the Sunaria jail in Haryana's Rohtak Friday morning on month-long parole.
Haryana's Jails Minister Ranjit Chautala said the 30-day parole was granted by the Rohtak Divisional Commissioner on the recommendation of officials concerned.
According to the minister, Singh had said in his plea that he wanted to go to the Dera Sacha Sauda Ashram, Barnawa, in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat.
A go-ahead from the administration in Baghpat was taken before clearance was given for the parole, the minister said.
"He has been granted a month-long parole and he came out of the prison on Friday," a senior police official from Rohtak told PTI.
The dera chief reached the Baghpat ashram around 12 noon. This was broadcast on his official Facebook page. On receiving information about his arrival at the ashram, a crowd of devotees gathered there.
Meanwhile, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami objected to the parole of the dera chief and said the decision shows double standards of the government.
Dhami said, "On one hand, the governments are not bringing the 'Bandi Singhs' (Sikh prisoners) out of the jails despite they having completed their sentences, on the other the Dera Sirsa head, who is a convict in heinous crimes, is being brought out from the jail time and again."
On the 500th Parkash Purab (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev, the Centre had announced to release the Sikh prisoners "but due to alleged malice of the government, the same has not been implemented", he alleged.
"Even though the Sikh bodies are repeatedly raising this issue, the government is not giving any meaningful revert. However, the governments are kind to the dera chief," Dhami said.
The SGPC president said the BJP government had granted a three-week furlough to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in February during the Punjab elections "for political gain and again gave him parole to take advantage in the Sangrur Lok Sabha bypolls" to be held next week.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two women disciples at his ashram in Sirsa, where the dera is headquartered. He was convicted by a special CBI court in Panchkula in August 2017.
He was last year also convicted along with four others for hatching a conspiracy to kill Ranjit Singh, a Dera manager, in 2002. The dera chief and three others were convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist over 16 years ago.
In February, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was given a 21-day furlough which was just days ahead of the Assembly polls in Punjab.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had then rejected any link between the sect leader's release and the Punjab elections. The dera chief had then stayed in Gurugram with his family.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
