Amritsar, August 25: The release of Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on a 21-day furlough has renewed intense scrutiny over the state’s selective application of prison leave. Sikh authorities have immediately contrasted the Dera chief’s fluid access to freedom with the case of Jagtar Singh Hawara, a life-term prisoner convicted in the 1995 assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, who cannot secure leave even to visit his dying mother.
“Jagtar Singh Hawara, who is serving a life sentence for the assassination of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995, has not been granted parole yet to meet his ailing mother,” noted Jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargajj, drawing a sharp distinction against Ram Rahim’s “frequent” releases.
The contrast arrives despite high-level political intervention, including Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann personally meeting the governor to advocate for a brief 10-day compassionate parole for Hawara. Public agitation also remains high, with the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha maintaining a continuous protest siege on the Chandigarh-Mohali border since early 2023 to demand liberty for aging Sikh prisoners.
The political leverage of the Sirsa-headquartered Dera Sacha Sauda, which commands a massive voting bloc across Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan, continues to shadow these recurrent decisions. As Ram Rahim returns to his followers for his third period of freedom this year, the SGPC and other apex Sikh bodies maintain that the recurring furloughs mock the judicial process while keeping compliance-ready ‘Bandi Singhs’ behind bars.
