Haryana: Rape and murder convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim released on furlough gets Z+ security
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been given Z+ security during his 21-day release on ‘furlough’ (a kind of leave) from a jail in Haryana. Officials gave this information on Tuesday.
He said Singh was given high-class security after his release on February 7 as Singh’s life was under threat from “pro-Khalistan” elements.
“If the prisoner is released on parole, Z-plus security or equivalent security will be provided as per extant rules,” said a recent message sent by a senior Haryana Police officer to the Rohtak range commissioner. Because the prisoner faces a high level of threat from radical Sikh extremists in India and abroad.
“There is credible information from pro-Khalistan activists regarding the threat to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh,” the official communication said.
The Dera Sacha Sauda chief was released on February 7 after the Haryana government concluded that he did not fall under the category of hardline prisoners. Singh is presently in his Gurgaon ashram and has been kept under tight security.
Before Singh was given ‘furlough’, a legal opinion was taken on the request of the jail authorities whether Singh falls in the category of hardcore criminals or not.
Singh got 21 days’ leave a few days before the Punjab Assembly elections. This cult has a large number of followers in Punjab, especially in Bathinda, Sangrur, Patiala and Muktsar.
On February 7, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had denied any connection between Singh’s release and the February 20 Punjab Assembly elections. “I think it is a coincidence and it has nothing to do with elections,” he said.
Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a special CBI court on August 28, 2017 for raping two female followers at his ashram in Sirsa.
In January 2019, Gurmeet Ram Rahim was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special CBI court in the journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati murder case. In this 16-year-old case, along with Gurmeet Ram Rahim, three other convicts Kuldeep Singh, Nirmal Singh and Krishan Lal were also sentenced to life imprisonment.
