Rohtak: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the chief of Dera Sacha Sauda, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for the rape of two disciples, has been granted a fresh 40-day parole, official sources confirmed Sunday.

The sect leader, currently imprisoned at Sunaria jail in Rohtak, Haryana, is expected to step out of prison for the 15th time since his initial conviction in 2017. His latest temporary release follows a similar 40-day parole granted in August of last year.

In addition to his 20-year rape sentence, Singh was also convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist more than 16 years ago. His history of temporary releases has frequently coincided with political cycles; he was granted a 21-day furlough in April 2025 and a 30-day parole in January 2025, just ahead of the Feb. 5 Delhi assembly elections.

Records show a similar pattern in late 2024, when he was allowed 20 days of parole starting Oct. 1, just four days before the Haryana assembly polls. Other instances include a 21-day furlough in August 2024 and a three-week release in February 2022, which occurred approximately two weeks before the Punjab assembly elections.

The repeated granting of parole and furlough to Singh has drawn sharp condemnation from Sikh organisations, including the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which has lobbied against his temporary releases.

While Singh was previously sentenced to life imprisonment by a special CBI court for the 2002 murder of sect manager Ranjit Singh, the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted him and four others in May 2024, citing "tainted and sketchy" investigations.

During many of his previous stays outside of prison, Singh has resided at the Dera’s ashram in Bagpat district, Uttar Pradesh. The Sirsa-headquartered Dera Sacha Sauda maintains a substantial following across Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan, with significant influence in Haryana districts such as Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, and Hisar.

With inputs from ANI