NEW DELHI: Just three days ahead of the Haryana assembly elections, the state govt on Wednesday released the controversial Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on parole for 20 days.
He was released at 6.30 am from Rohtak Jail.
After getting a nod from the chief secretary’s office, additional chief secretary (home) Anurag Rastogi had sent the file to DGP (prisons) Muhammad Akil for further action.
While the govt had already cleared the file, Congress on Tuesday shot off another complaint to the Election Commission (EC) and Haryana chief electoral officer (CEO) Pankaj Aggarwal against the parole, arguing his release near the election could influence voters and amounts to violation of the model code of conduct.
On Friday, the prisons department had sent the communication to Haryana EC through its CEO to consult over its move of taking decision on application for 20-day parole sought by the dera chief.
The CEO had asked the additional chief secretary to explain the compelling circumstances for granting the parole when the model code of conduct was in place.
On Monday, the CEO had cleared the file and informed the state government that it can consider him for release.
The parole application had come within a month of the dera head returning to Sunaria jail of Rohtak after completion of his furlough.
The dera head is serving sentence after he had been convicted in cases of rape of two sadhvis and murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.
Previously, the dera head had been released on bail ahead or during special occasions linked to electoral politics. The dera also had a political wing and its decision related to support to person or party is believed to be influential on the voting pattern.