‘Why approve it?’: Dera Sacha Sauda chief again seeks parole; give reasons, EC tells Haryana govt

CHANDIGARH: Rape-murder convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim's latest plea for 20 days of parole, less than a month after he returned to Rohtak's Sunaria Jail after a 21-day furlough, has led Haryana's chief electoral officer Pankaj Aggarwal to ask state govt to explain what "compelling" circumstances, if any, exist for the Dera chief's application to be accepted.

Ram Rahim's petition states he has work to attend to at dera ashram in UP's Barnawa. Aggarwal's query to jails department, sent through additional chief secretary (home) Anurag Rastogi, is in context of model code of conduct for the Oct 5 assembly election. "We are awaiting a response," Aggarwal said.

Rastogi, DGP (prisons) Muhammad Akil and chief secretary TVSN Prasad were unavailable for comment on the administration's response. BJP functionaries were tight-lipped, too. Congress spokesperson Kewal Dhingra said though applying for parole was a prisoner's right, the timing of Ram Rahim's plea hinted the Sirsa-based dera's alleged involvement in the election.

"Earlier too, he was released from jail ahead of polls. Hence, this is a matter of concern. His release could lead to polarisation of votes as he has a huge following," Dhingra said. In the event of parole being granted for another 20 days, Ram Rahim would be out of jail for a total of 275 days in four years, coinciding with assembly, municipal, parliamentary and panchayat polls on nine occasions in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.

BJP is often been accused of favouring the dera chief. A spokesperson for the dera termed the plea for temporary release within statutory provisions. The dera chief has been incarcerated in Sunaria Jail since Aug 2017. On Aug 25, 2017, a CBI court in Panchkula convicted him of raping female followers and sentenced him to 20 years in jail. He is also serving time for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatarpati.