Dera chief Ram Rahim withdraws parole application

Last month, he had sought parole for six weeks, saying he would cultivate his farm land that was lying barren.

Rape-murder convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Monday withdrew his application seeking parole, a jail officer with knowledge of the development said.

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had last month said a decision on Dera chief’s parole application would be taken keeping in view the interests of the state. (HT Photo)

Last month, he had sought parole for six weeks, saying he would cultivate his farm land that was lying barren.

Singh, the chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for raping two women, in August 2017. In January this year, a special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Panchkula had also sentenced him and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of a journalist over 16 years ago.

He is currently lodged in Rohtak’s Sunaria jail and has completed a year of his prison sentence.

“His lawyer Harish Chhabra submitted an application to withdraw Dera chief’s parole plea,” the jail official said.

“The jail superintendent Sunil Sangwan will write to the deputy commissioner of Sirsa Ashok Garg and brief him about withdrawal plea by the Dera chief”, he added.

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had last month said a decision on Dera chief’s parole application would be taken keeping in view the interests of the state. “Anyone who is entitled for parole can seek one. We cannot stop anyone,” Khattar had said.

Then a report is sought from the superintendent of police and, in the end, a recommendation is made by the divisional commissioner.