Who is Dera Sacha Saudia's Ram Rahim Singh, Indian 'godman' and rape convict who walked out of jail again?

Dera Sacha Saudachief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, an Indian 'godman' and convicted rapist who is serving a 20-year sentence, walked out of jail yet again on furlough on Tuesday (Aug 13) after petitions against it were dismissed. Singh will be out for 21 days.

He is serving jail for the rape of two women disciples at his ashram in Sirsa.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was released from Sunaria prison in Rohtak, a city in the northern state of Haryana, at 6.30 am local time, according to media reports.

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He will spend time at an Ashram of Dera Sacha Sauda at Baghpat in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the reports said.

Significantly, his release took place two months ahead of the local assembly elections in Haryana.

Ram Rahim has been out of jail on parole or furloughs several times in the past since his conviction for rape in 2017. These temporary releases were often opposed in court, but failed.

The last plea was filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee or SGPC.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the prisons department to take a call, without “arbitrariness or favouritism”, while dismissing the petition.

Who is Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh?

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is the chief of the spiritual group Dera Sacha Sauda, which is seen by many as a cult. At the height of his fame, the 56-year-old had hundreds of thousands of disciples, and was also an actor and film producer, with his followers claiming that the movies amassed 1 billion rupees.

He also released several music albums and music videos, which had gone viral at the time.

He was famous for his outlandish dressing style, as well as stunts including driving heavy bikes.

He was seen as a social reformer and organised massive medical camps for blood donation, and free check-ups. He is also known for mega drives for cleanliness and sanitation.

The Dera chief, who also called himself MSG, apparently short for Messenger of God, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for raping two of his followers at his ashram in Sirsa.

Ram Rahim Singh rape case

Since the early 2000s, several of Ram Rahim's female disciples had accused him of rape and molestation, but complaints by two women were the most prominent.

After a lengthy probe by Central Bureau of Investigation, a CBI court convicted Ram Rahim on 25 August 2017 of rape.

Soon, his followers went on a rampage in Haryana and several other northern cities, blocking traffic and setting public property and vehicles on fire. The violence spread even to the Indian capital New Delhiand the National Capital Region or NCR, and left several dead.

Police raided his ashram and found that he lived a palatial house, the videos of which went viral.

Ram Rahim was sentenced to 20 years in prison on 28 August 2017.

Ram Rahim's run-ins with law

In a separate case, in January 2019, Singh was convicted of the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and sentenced to life imprisonment. Chhatrapati had been writing about the death of a Dera Sauda former manager Ranjit Singh, and was shot dead in 2002.

Ram Rahim was an accused in the killing Ranjit Singh in 2002, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted him and four others.

Ram Rahimis also reportedly accused of ordering forced castrations on 400 of his followers.

(With inputs from agencies)