Arfa Khanum Sherwani, senior editor of The Wire dissects the Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh case, with the godman likely to receive parole. She discusses how the release may be linked to the upcoming assembly polls in the state.

“Anyone who is entitled for parole can seek one. We cannot stop anyone,” Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said at a press conference.

In August 2017, the flamboyant Dera chief, Ram Rahim was sentenced to 20 years in jail for raping two women. The case he has been convicted in goes back to 1999, though charges were filed in 2002.
Ram Rahim, behind bars at the Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak district after being convicted, has sought 42 days of parole to look after his fields in Sirsa district.

Health minister Anil Vij had said earlier that Ram Rahim or any other prisoner was entitled to seek parole if the criteria were met as per the law.

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