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Sharp decline in ‘rakhis’ sent to jailed dera chief Ram Rahim
The staff at the Rohtak post office heaved a sigh of relief as they have received only 1,300 rakhis for jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim till Wednesday
The staff at the Rohtak post office heaved a sigh of relief as they have received only 1,300 rakhis for jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim till Wednesday. Every year, dera followers used to send rakhis and postcards for Ram Rahim on Raksha Bandhan and his birthday which falls on August 15.
The dera chief, who is serving a life term at Sunaria jail here for raping his two disciples and the murder of a Sirsa –based journalist, had been receiving more than 30,000 cards and rakhis every year but this year, their numbers have sharply declined.
Vikas, the postmaster at the Sunaria post office, said they have received 1,300 articles for Ram Rahim and the same will be delivered to him on Raksha Bandhan on August 11.
“The post office staff has been working to identify the articles sent to Ram Rahim and other persons. In previous years, we had deployed special staff, who worked overtime to process a flood of rakhis for Ram Rahim. But, this year, the delivered articles are very less as compared to the previous years,” the postmaster added.
The postmaster said they needed to upload the details of each article on the database. A jail official, who wished not to be named, said they thoroughly checked each and every article sent to Ram Rahim.
“Security has been tightened on the eve of Raksha Bandhan and each and every article will be delivered to him. Double staff will be deployed tomorrow,” he added.
Last month, the dera chief returned to Sunaria jail after spending his 30-day parole with his close aides and followers at Dera Sacha Sauda Ashram in Uttar Pradesh’s Barnawa in Baghpat.
Another jail official said the dera chief’s followers used to send articles and rakhis on Raksha Bandhan every year and cards on his birthday which falls on August 15.
“His followers might send more cards on his birthday than rakhis sent on Raksha Bandhan. Every year, the number of parcels delivered to him is declining. The number of articles seems to have reduced sharply as he met with many of his followers during his one-month-long parole and other reasons behind the dwindling numbers can’t be ignored,” the official added.
