Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh - who was sentenced to life imprisonment in October for the murder of Ranjit Singh nearly two decades ago - walked out of jail Monday after getting a furlough of 21 days, reports NDTV.

The self-styled godman was granted furlough by the Haryana government for the first time after being convicted years ago and a jail official confirmed the Dera chief’s release for the next three weeks. Haryana jail minister Ranjit Singh Chautala reportedly said it was the right of every inmate to get furlough as per law and the same was applied to the Dera chief.

The Dera chief’s 3 weeks parole is said to be a significant move ahead of the upcoming Punjab Assembly Elections scheduled to be held on February 20. The Sirsa-based sect leader has major influence on many assembly seats in the state.

He has been undergoing his jail term at the high-security Sunaria jail in Rohtak, 250 kms from state capital Chandigarh, for raping his two disciples, and was sentenced to life for the murder of a journalist in 2002.

On January 17, 2019, a special CBI court in Panchkula also sentenced him and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of a journalist over 16 years ago.

Ram Rahim was patronised by political leaders and parties in Punjab and Haryana for nearly two decades due to his ability to influence the votes of his followers.

Earlier last year, Ram Rahim who was already serving a 20-year jail sentence for raping two of his disciples and a life term for a journalist’s killing, was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder of a former sect manager nearly two decades back.