A self-declared religious leader in Haryana, Satguru Rampalji Maharaj, has been acquitted on Tuesday by a Hisar court on chrges of resisting arrest and contempt of court orders. Rampal was arrested in 2014 after his ashram in Hisar, 170 kms northwest of Delhi, was stormed by policemen. Six people were killed as his devotees turned into a private army to prevent his arrest; hundreds were injured. His followers were armed with stones, lathis and guns.
The days-long siege included Rampal using devotees as human shields. At one point, thousands of them formed a human chain to protect him. After a week-long stand-off and the death of six people, police nabbed Rampal on an arrest warrant issued for repeatedly ignoring court summons. The episode triggered new cases against the so-called godman, including for murder, attempted murder, sedition, rioting and illegal detention.
The police wanted to arrest Rampal after he ignored more than 40 summons to appear in court for a case where he is charged with murder. In 2006, he allegedly ordered his supporters to fire on a group of villagers, leaving one dead and six injured. A verdict in that case has yet to be delivered along with judgements on charges of rioting and criminal conspiracy.
The 66-year-old the head of Satlok Ashram in Barwala, who runs a sect housed in a sprawling 12-acre ashram in Barwala, first burst into prominence in the late 90s after touring Haryana as a bhajan singer. Satguru Rampalji Maharaj is to remain in jail as he is yet to receive verdict on his other cases.
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