Life sentence to self-styled godman Rampal, 14 others

A court in Haryanas Hisar town on Tuesday awarded life sentence to self-styled godman Rampal along with 14 others for the murder of six people. He has been in prison since November 2014.

The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge D.R. Chalia, who convicted them on October 11, awarded the life sentence to them.

They were also slapped with a fine of Rs 1 lakh each.

This court will pronounce the quantum of punishment for Rampal in a second murder case on Wednesday for which he has already been convicted.

The two murder cases against him relate to the murder of six people during violent clashes between his supporters and Haryana Police at his Satlok Ashram near Barwala town in Hisar district, around 245 km from the state capital.

Earlier, the Hisar court in August 2017, had acquitted Rampal in two cases of wrongful confinement, unlawful assembly and disobedience to order given by a public servant.

Rampal was facing other cases of murder conspiracy, sedition and rioting. He and his close aides, including his private army, had resisted the police action to arrest him on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court while holed up inside his Satlok Ashram in November 2014.

Five women and an infant had lost their lives as Rampal continued to elude the police.

The high court had ordered his arrest as he had failed to appear before the law.

Rampal's supporters had indulged in vandalism in a court in Hisar in July 2014 when he was going there in connection with a 2006 murder conspiracy case.

The high court had taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and summoned Rampal.

--IANS

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