Rampal supporters demand CBI probe

Thousands of supporters of controversial sect leader Rampal Tuesday staged a protest here and demanded a CBI probe into allegations of his involvement in a murder conspiracy.

A five-member team of supporters also met President Pranab Mukherjee and submitted a memorandum requesting a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Over 2,500 devotees of Rampal gathered at central Delhi's Jantar Mantar Tuesday afternoon and staged a protest shouting slogans "Nyay do ya maut do" (give justice or death).

Ram Kumar Dhaka, a member of the team that met the president, told IANS: "We have submitted a memorandum to the president, but we are yet to get satisfactory assurance. Our protest will continue till the government takes proper action over the issue."

Police said the whole protest was peaceful. "We have set up barricades at the entry and exit point of Jantar Mantar. If the protestors try to break law and order, we will take necessary action," Additional Commissioner of Police S.B.S Tyagi told IANS.

"We want the case to be probed by the CBI and a committee of retired high court judges formed to inquire into the matter," a supporter Bhagat Chetrapal, 45, a resident of Hisar, told IANS.

Another supporter Uma, 35, also from Hisar said: "We are his devotees. The case has been going on for eight years but nothing has been proved against him (Rampal)."

The protest in the capital was held even as Rampal's followers and security forces clashed Tuesday in Hisar as police tried to storm his ashram complex in a bid to arrest him.