For 7th time in 2 years, Ram Rahim granted 50-day parole

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh - supposed to be serving a 20-year jail term for raping two women - has been granted parole, again. Singh has been released for 50 days; this is Ram Rahim Singh's seventh parole in the past 24 months, and ninth in the last four years.

Last year alone Ram Rahim Singh - on paper behind bars in Sunaria Jail in Haryana's Rohtak district - was given parole on three occasions, adding up to 91 days. He was released for 21 days in November, 30 days in July, and 40 days in January - to attend former Dera chief Shah Satnam's birth anniversary.

Singh was pictured on that occasion "celebrating" by cutting a birthday cake with a sword. In a video that was widely shared online Rahim Singh was seen slashing the cake and declaring, "Got a chance after five years to celebrate like this... so I should cut at least five cakes. This is the first cake!"