Gurmeet Ram Rahim withdraws parole plea

Rohtak : Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim has withdrawn his parole plea claiming that he wants to attend to his agricultural fields.

The 51-year-old spiritual leader is lodged at Sunaria jail in Rohtak after he was convicted in two rape cases and a murder of a journalist.

Following his application for the parole for 42 days, the jail superintendent had written to the Sirsa district administration. In a letter dated June 18, the official sought a report on whether releasing Gurmeet on parole would be feasible or not. The jail superintendent in his report had expressed that Gurmeet’s conduct in the jail premises had been good and he had not violated any rules or regulations.

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.