Gurugram: Frequent paroles and furloughs for Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh have triggered a sharp backlash, with Anshul Chhatrapati, the son of slain journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, asking the judiciary to treat the convicted rapist’s case with the same stringency as that of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar.
Ram Chander Chhatrapati was the editor of the evening daily Poora Sach at Sirsa. He was the first to publish an anonymous letter from a sadhvi (disciple) on 31 May 2002 that detailed the sexual exploitation at the Dera. He was shot outside his home on 24 October 2002 and died a month later on 21 November 2002.
On 11 January 2019, the Special CBI Court in Panchkula convicted Ram Rahim and three others of murder and criminal conspiracy, and sentenced them to imprisonment for life.
Before this, the Dera chief was convicted on 25 August 2017 of raping two women followers and sentenced to imprisonment for 20 years, in a case that prompted the Punjab and Haryana High Court to order a CBI probe based on that anonymous letter.
Anshul’s call came after the Dera chief got his 15th parole or furlough since his 2017 conviction, a pattern that victims’ families say mocks the trial court’s verdict and emboldens a cult figure whose followers have twice brought Haryana to its knees with violent riots.
The Dera’s spokesperson maintained that Ram Rahim’s releases were “entirely lawful” and granted under established remission policies.
Speaking to ThePrint Monday, Anshul Chhatrapati said that the manner in which the Haryana government was giving repeated paroles and furloughs to what he described as a “dreaded criminal” raised safety concerns for the families of the victim.
“The manner in which, after a rape convict Kuldeep Sengar was given bail by the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court immediately intervened on the plea filed by the CBI and reversed the HC’s decision, Ram Rahim’s case is even more serious, as he is convicted for more heinous crimes,” said Anshul.
In Ram Rahim’s case, not only are the victims of rape and the families of those murdered living in fear after his release, but there are other victims whose cases are still at the stage of trial, like the case of castration,” he said.
He added that the complainant in the castration case against Ram Chander Chhatrapati had earlier moved an application before the court that he faced a threat to his life and hence he should be allowed to depose before the court through video conferencing.
Anshul also alleged that the Haryana government often misleads people by saying the paroles are granted under court orders and based on his good conduct, despite evidence of the Dera chief’s conduct outside prison.
“He has been convicted by competent courts for rapes and murders and even after his conviction, his followers burnt public properties at Panchkula and Sirsa. At the time of the Panchkula violence, senior police officers had said on record that the violence started after Ram Rahim signalled to his followers,” Anshul said.
“However, the government didn’t register any case against him for the violence. He should have been arrayed as the key conspirator. The government should also look at his conduct outside the jail, not just inside the jail, while granting him parole,” he added.
Anshul appealed to the judiciary to take suo motu cognisance of repeated paroles to the Dera chief.
Advocate Jitender Khurana, a spokesperson of the Dera, however, said that the 40-day parole to the Dera chief has been granted by the Haryana government’s competent authority in accordance with the law. “We have been maintaining in the past too that every prisoner has a legal right to take 70 days of parole and 21 days of furlough. Pujya Guruji (Ram Rahim) has been granted 40 days of parole out of those 70 days,” he told ThePrint.
He said the Dera chief wasn’t the only one getting this relief. Over 6,000 prisoners in Haryana also receive parole and furlough every year after their applications are decided by competent authorities.
He added that the Dera chief would stay at the Sirsa dera during his parole period.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
Also Read: 15 times since 2020: Timeline of paroles, furloughs granted to Dera Sacha Sauda chief