Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram-Rahim was granted a 21-day furlough on Wednesday morning. He left the Sunaria prison in Rohtak early in the morning and will be staying at his Dera headquarters in Sirsa during this period.

He was arrested in 2017 on charges of raping two of his female disciples and is currently serving a 20-year jail term.

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He was earlier released in January for a 30-day parole just ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections. His past releases have coincided with Assembly elections in Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, or Rajasthan, states where he happens to have a substantial number of followers.

During his earlier releases, he was not granted permission to stay at the headquarters in Sirsa and hence, spent his time out of jail in Baghpat, where Dera Sacha Sauda has an Ashram.

He first started receiving paroles and furloughs in October 2020 and since then has been out of jail for a total of 326 days.

His followers started a riot minutes after the court ordered his arrest, attacking vehicles and buildings. At least 30 people were killed and nearly 200 injured.

Despite the arrest and rape conviction, his popularity does not seem to be falling as is evident from the online satsangs he started after going to jail. Apparently, his followers continue to support and love him.