Out on parole, Gurmeet Ram Rahim releases Punjabi video song, says jail term is ‘spiritual journey’
Haryana’s Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has released a 3.52-minute Punjabi video song featuring himself from his Dera located in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat. He also released videos of the Diwali celebrations at the Dera. Interacting with followers on Monday night, Ram Rahim claimed that his imprisonment was a “spiritual journey” and added that he was writing a book on it.
Currently out on a 40-day parole, Ram Rahim, first convicted in August 2017 by a special CBI court in Panchkula, is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his women disciples at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa. In 2019, Ram Rahim and three others were convicted for the 2002 murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. Last year, he, along with four others, was convicted for hatching a conspiracy to kill the Dera’s former manager Ranjit Singh, who was shot dead in 2002.
During the parole, the Dera chief began to interact with his followers online almost on a daily basis. In the last few days, at least two BJP leaders, including Haryana Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Ranbir Gangwa and Karnal Mayor Renu Bala Gupta were found interacting with Ram Rahim online and seeking his blessings. The Congress candidate for Adampur bypoll, Jai Prakash, too came forward claiming that he was Ram Rahim’s “biggest disciple”.
In his video song released in Punjabi, Ram Rahim has also included his old videos with Dera Sacha Sauda’s former chief Shah Satnam. He referred to the new song as a “bhajan” and claimed that he had done the composing, editing and also music of the video.
After releasing the video on Diwali night, Ram Rahim interacted with his followers online and announced that he has written and composed 800 such “bhajans” to be released soon. He also released a book, Guess What’s My Name, to help followers pick names for their babies.
Previously, Ram Rahim was granted parole thrice in 2021 and twice in 2022, which includes 21 days in February and a month in June this year. The timing of the Dera chief’s repeated release on parole has often raised questions. According to prison authorities, a convict is entitled to parole of 90 days every year, subject to clearances on his conduct and security clearances from the district administration where he or she would be staying during the parole period.
On February 7, Ram Rahim was granted furlough days before the Punjab Assembly polls and granted Z-plus security “due to a high-level threat to his life from pro-Khalistan elements”.
He was out on a 30-day parole in June following which Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami condemned the Haryana government for releasing him multiple times. “On the one hand, the government is not releasing Sikh prisoners even after they completed their jail terms. On the other, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who is serving imprisonment for heinous cases such as rape and murder, is getting released from jail time and again,” Dhami had said.
In June 2019, Ram Rahim was made to withdraw his parole plea after Opposition parties cornered the Haryana government for allegedly favouring him. At the time, he had sought a 42-day parole to tend to his farm in Sirsa.
