Dera Sacha Sauda chief walks out of Rohtak jail after being granted 40-day parole; SAD, SGPC object
Chandigarh/Baghpat, Jan 21: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walked out of the Sunaria jail in Haryana's Rohtak on Saturday after he was granted a 40-day parole and reached Barnawa Ashram in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat accompanied by his adopted daughter Honeypreet amid tight security.
The Shiromani Akali Dal and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee strongly objected to granting parole to Ram Rahim Singh who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples.
The Dera chief had got another 40-day parole three months earlier which ended on November 25. That time also he had gone to Barnawa ashram following his release from prison on October 14.
A police official from Rohtak Saturday said Ram Rahim Singh came out of the prison in the afternoon.
"The parole has been granted for 40 days in accordance with the rules," Rohtak's Divisional Commissioner Sanjeev Verma said on Friday.
According to sources, Ram Rahim Singh is likely to attend a birth anniversary event of former Dera chief Shah Satnam Singh on January 25.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh arrived at Barnawa Ashram in a convoy of half-a-dozen vehicles. The doors of the ashram were closed as soon as he entered it.
Circle officer of Baghpat D K Sharma said that people will not be allowed to crowd the Ashram in compliance with parole rules. Honeypreet and family members of Ram Rahim Singh accompanied him, SHO of Binauli Police Station Saleem Ahmed told PTI.
Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal said "repeated" paroles were being granted to the Dera chief but "justice was not being done with 'Bandi Singhs' (Sikh prisoners)", who he claimed, were in jails even after completion of their sentences.
"The need of the hour is to provide a healing touch to anguished Sikh hearts. Instead of doing this, the governments are bending over backwards to please a rape and murder convict," he said, adding this only "exposes the anti-Sikh intent of governments".
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami also objected to the grant of parole to the Dera chief.
"The dual policy of the governments towards minorities is creating an environment of mistrust among Sikhs," he said, demanding the release of Sikh prisoners.
During his previous parole, the 55-year-old Ram Rahim Singh held several online "Satsang" sessions at the Barnawa Ashram
Before his October parole, he had come out of prison on a month-long parole in June. Besides, he was granted a three-week furlough from February 7, 2022, barely two weeks before the Punjab Assembly polls.
In 2021, the Dera chief, along with four others, was also convicted for hatching a conspiracy to kill Ranjit Singh, a Dera manager. The Dera chief and three others were convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist more than 16 years ago.
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4 held for sexually assaulting woman, girl on moving bus after social media alert in UP's Agra
Agra (UP) (PTI): Four people were arrested, after a prompt response by police following a social media alert, for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman and a girl inside a moving bus here, officials said on Tuesday.
According to an official police statement, at 12:27 am on April 27, information was received on the social media platform X about an incident of sexual assault on a bus travelling from Kanpur to Ahmedabad, which was approaching Namner crossing in Agra.
Acting under the direction of Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar, the Agra Police social media team immediately alerted the Rakabganj police station within minutes and coordinated with the victims to confirm the incident and obtain the exact location, it stated.
Police teams launched intensive checking at Namner crossing and intercepted the bus as it reached the spot. The four accused involved in the incident were apprehended on the spot, and legal action was initiated against them, the statement said.
The police said the swift response and coordination between the social media team and field units ensured timely action, bringing relief to the victims and other passengers, who expressed gratitude towards the police, it added.
