CHANDIGARH: Rape-murder convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim‘s newest plea for 20 days of parole, lower than a month after he returned to Rohtak’s Sunaria Jail after a 21-day furlough, has led Haryana‘s chief electoral officer Pankaj Aggarwal to ask state govt to elucidate what “compelling” circumstances, if any, exist for the Dera chief’s software to be accepted.
Ram Rahim’s petition states he has work to take care of at dera ashram in UP’s Barnawa.Aggarwal’s question to jails division, despatched by means of extra chief secretary (house) Anurag Rastogi, is in context of mannequin code of conduct for the Oct 5 meeting election. “We’re awaiting a response,” Aggarwal mentioned.
Rastogi, DGP (prisons) Muhammad Akil and chief secretary TVSN Prasad have been unavailable for touch upon the administration’s response. BJP functionaries have been tight-lipped, too. Congress spokesperson Kewal Dhingra mentioned although making use of for parole was a prisoner’s proper, the timing of Ram Rahim’s plea hinted the Sirsa-based dera’s alleged involvement within the election.
“Earlier too, he was launched from jail forward of polls. Therefore, this can be a matter of concern. His launch might result in polarisation of votes as he has an enormous following,” Dhingra mentioned. Within the occasion of parole being granted for an additional 20 days, Ram Rahim can be out of jail for a complete of 275 days in 4 years, coinciding with meeting, municipal, parliamentary and panchayat polls on 9 events in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.
BJP is commonly been accused of favouring the dera chief. A spokesperson for the dera termed the plea for short-term launch inside statutory provisions. The dera chief has been incarcerated in Sunaria Jail since Aug 2017. On Aug 25, 2017, a CBI courtroom in Panchkula convicted him of raping feminine followers and sentenced him to twenty years in jail. He’s additionally serving time for the homicide of journalist Ram Chander Chhatarpati.
