Chandigarh: Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Tuesday walked out of the Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak after he was granted a 21-day furlough.
During his temporary release period, Singh will stay at the Dera ashram in Barnawa in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat.
The Sirsa-headquartered Dera sect chief was granted the temporary release days after the Punjab and Haryana High Court disposed of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s (SGPC) petition against Singh’s temporary release.
The high court on August 9 observed that a plea for temporary release by the Dera chief should be considered by the competent authority without any “arbitrariness or favouritism”.
In June, Singh moved the high court and sought directions to grant him a 21-day furlough.
On February 29, the high court directed the Haryana government not to grant further parole to the Dera Sacha Sauda chief without its permission. He had been granted a 50-day parole on January 19.
According to the warrant for his temporary release, the Dera chief was released from custody on furlough for a period of 21 days, subject to conditions that he shall reside at the Dera’s Shah Satnam Ji Ashram in Barnawa during this period.