Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal on Wednesday asked the Haryana government to cancel the parole given to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who has been convicted for rape and murder.

“Why is such a dangerous person being given parole again and again?” Maliwal asked in a tweet. “He delivers discourses and releases spiritual songs on parole and some Haryana government leaders even attend his functions. Haryana government should immediately end Gurmeet’s parole.”

However, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the state government had no role in granting parole to Singh, reported PTI.

“I have no role in this as it is the job of the court to give bail or parole to any person,” Khattar said. “The court decides whom to give parole. I do not want to say anything more on this matter.”

The Dera Sacha Sauda chief was granted a 40-day parole last week ahead of the Adampur bye-poll on November 3 and Haryana panchayat elections on November 12.

This is the third time Singh has been granted temporary release from prison this year. In June, the sect leader was released on month-long parole ahead of the Sangrur bye-election in Punjab. In February, he was granted a 21-day furlough ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections.

A special Central Bureau of Investigation court had in October 2021 sentenced Singh and four others to life imprisonment in the 19-year-old murder case of sector manager Ranjit Singh. In 2017, he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for raping two of his women disciples at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa district.

While out on parole this time, Singh released a music video on his YouTube channel on Tuesday. The song called Sadi Nit Diwali has garnered 98 lakh views in two days. The video shows Singh lighting lamps with two of his mentors, to whom he pays tributes in the lyrics.

On October 20, Singh had hosted a virtual religious meeting, where several Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Karnal Mayor Renu Bala Gupta, Deputy Mayor Naveen Kumar and senior Deputy Mayor Rajesh Aggi, were present.