Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's parole application will be decided on merit, says senior police official

Chandigarh: Sirsa Police is yet to give its report to the deputy commissioner on the parole application of jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, with a senior police official on Monday saying it will be prepared to keep in view merits and demerits of the plea. The sect head had sought parole for over a month for farming at his fields in Haryana’s Sirsa, officials had said. [caption id=“attachment_3970321” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. AP[/caption] He is currently lodged at Sunaria jail in Rohtak after being convicted in two rape cases and murder of a journalist. Following his application for parole for 42 days, the jail superintendent had written to the Sirsa district administration. In a letter dated 18 June, the official had sought a report whether releasing Gurmeet on parole would be feasible or not. In the communique, the jail superintendent mentioned that Gurmeet’s conduct in jail has been good and he has not violated any rule. The Sirsa district administration has been asked to submit a report to the commissioner of Rohtak division with a copy marked to the jail superintendent. Sirsa’s Superintendent of Police Dr Arun Singh said on Monday that they have not yet given their report to the Sirsa deputy commissioner as various formalities have to be completed before doing so. “The report will be prepared to take into account the merits and demerits of the parole if granted. On a routine basis, we prepare reports on parole applications based on merits and demerits of each case,” he said over the phone. “He has applied for parole, which he is entitled to. There is a procedure involved. The Sirsa police will prepare its report and submit it to the deputy commissioner,” Haryana Jail Minister Krishan Lal Panwar said. On receiving the letter, the Sirsa police had approached the Revenue Department to ascertain how much land the Dera chief owns. In August 2017, the Dera chief was sentenced to 20 years in jail for raping two women. A special CBI court in Panchkula had in January this year also sentenced him and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of a journalist over 16 years ago.