28/05/2026
R**e Convict Ram Rahim Gets his 16th Bail in 9 Years
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is serving a 20-year sentence in the sexual assault case, was released from Sunaria Jail in Haryana on a 30-day parole granted by the state government, marking the self-styled godman’s 16th temporary release in last 9 years since his conviction in 2017. Convicted by a Special CBI court in Panchkula in August 2017 for ra**ng two women disciples inside the Dera headquarters at Sirsa, Ram Rahim has been serving his term at Sunaria Jail since then. The conviction had sparked widespread violence across Haryana and neighbouring states by his followers, resulting in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries.
Since his imprisonment, Ram Rahim has repeatedly secured parole and furlough under the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022. According to prison records cited in media reports, the latest release takes the cumulative period spent outside prison to nearly 436 days.
His temporary releases include
• a one-day parole in October 2020,
• a 12-hour emergency release in May 2021 to visit his mother,
• 21 days in February 2022,
• 30 days in June 2022,
• 40 days in October 2022,
• 40 days in January 2023,
• 30 days in July 2023,
• 21 days in November 2023,
• 50 days in January 2024,
• 21 days in August 2024,
• 20 days in October 2024,
• 30 days in January 2025,
• 21 days in April 2025,
• 40 days in August 2025,
• 40 days in January 2026 and now 30 days in May 2026.
The parole follows a series of acquittals in other cases: the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently acquitted Ram Rahim in the murder of journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati, whistleblower. He was also acquitted in the 2002 murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.
Ram Rahim’s connection with BJP leaders is concealed to none. At a time when political dissenters, especially from the Muslim community, are routinely rounded up, incarcerated, and denied bail, the repeated granting of bail to this self-proclaimed godman once again exposes the blatant double standards of the BJP government.
(Abridged version of the News published in Maktoob Media on 26.5.2026)
AISA