Rampal arrested from his Hisar ashram

NEW DELHI: Haryana Police finally arrested elusive self-styled godman Rampal on Wednesday evening from his fortified Satlok Ashram near Barwala in Haryana. He was whisked away in an ambulance which was followed by a number of police vehicles.

The police had been preparing for the final assault to arrest Rampal from his ashram since late evening, where four women died mysteriously and two others in hospital in the midst of a showdown.

“We have arrested him. He is in our custody. He is being taken to hospital for medical examination,” a senior police officer said. There was not much resistance offered by Rampal’s supporters and his private army when he was finally taken into custody after 9pm, a police officer said. 

The controversial 63-year-old baba will produced in a Hisar court on Thursday, superintendent of police, Panipat Satish Balan told reporters.

Earlier, home minister Rajnath Singh asked Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar to bring about an early end to the stand-off between police and supporters of Rampal in Hisar, amid indications of unhappiness at the Centre about the way the issue was handled by the state government.

Earleir, Haryana police arrested Purushottam Das, a close aide of controversial sect leader Rampal, while 70 others were sent to judicial custody for 14 days in Hisar district. The district has been on the boil since Tuesday after police stormed godman’s Satlok Ashram.

A large number of followers of godman Rampal, who had been holed up in his ashram for days, came out on Wednesday and narrated how they were confined there along with thousands more who too were desperately wanting to leave the premises.

Hailing from various parts of the country, the followers claimed that “private commandos” of Rampal had been “forcing” them not to leave, but they managed to persuade and come out.

Vashisht said about 15,000 people were inside the ashram, out of which 10,000 have come out.