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Indian police storm ashram in hunt for ‘godman’ Indian police storm ashram in hunt for ‘godman’
(about 4 hours later)
Supporters of a controversial Indian guru have clashed with police who tried to storm his fortified ashram and arrest him. Hundreds of armed supporters of a controversial guru, or “baba” have clashed with baton-wielding police who tried to storm his fortified ashram and arrest him in northern India.
Officers fired water cannon at devotees of the self-styled “godman”, many of whom have spent days guarding the building outside Hisar city, 100 miles (160km) north of Delhi. Police fired teargas and water cannon at devotees of the self-styled “godman”, who have spent days guarding the sprawling compound outside Hisar city, 108 miles north of the capital.
The guru, 63-year-old Rampal Maharaj, has repeatedly defied court orders to appear to answer charges of conspiracy to murder, inciting mobs and contempt of court. Two officers were wounded by what appeared to be live fire coming from the ashram on Tuesday, where supporters including women and children were holed up, the director general of police SN Vashisht said.
“We were asked to arrest and produce him in court on Friday,” an assistant superintendent said on condition of anonymity. “When we went there, his supporters started hurling crude bombs and pelting stones at us. We were helpless. “We had to open water cannons. There was some baton charging as well.” “We had prior information that they had stones, petrol bombs, weapons, batons and sticks and acid pouches,” Vashisht told reporters in the city of Chandigarh.
Television footage showed chaotic scenes, with police firing teargas at Maharaj’s supporters and bulldozers driving towards the ashram’s walls. Supporters also fired several shots from inside the ashram, according to unconfirmed local media reports. “Two of our policemen were hit by bullets and are admitted to hospital. It is still a live situation. We will not stop until we catch this criminal,” he said, adding that some supporters were calling themselves “Baba’s commandos”.
A police officer said it was unclear how many people had been injured, with reports of hundreds of devotees, including women and children, holed up inside. “The situation is very serious,” deputy superintendent Amit Dahiya said. The guru, 63-year-old Rampal Maharaj, has repeatedly failed to appear to answer charges of conspiracy to murder, inciting mobs and contempt of court, local media have reported.
India has been rocked by several scandals involving popular self-styled gurus, including one who was charged last year with sexually assaulting a schoolgirl. Television footage showed chaotic scenes in which police armed with sticks pushed a media crew and dragged away supporters, including women, and bulldozers drove towards the ashram’s high outer walls.
For many, such “godmen” play an integral role in daily life. They offer a pathway to enlightenment in return for spiritual devotion and often donations to their ashrams, temples and charity projects. Police were attempting to ensure women and children inside the compound were not caught up in the clashes, Vashisht said. “It is our hope that the innocents trapped inside the ashram can be taken out safely.”
When Sathya Sai Baba, one of the most prominent Indian gurus, died in 2011, he was given a state funeral. The then prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar joined huge crowds of followers to pay their last respects. Devotees described scenes of panic inside the building, with some saying that more senior members of the ashram prevented them from leaving as the police started to move in, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.
“There are so many people still inside and the vast majority of them want to leave, but they are not being allowed to leave,” one woman who managed to flee told PTI.
Police have cut off water and electricity supplies in recent days and blocked roads to prevent deliveries of food in a bid to flush out the guru and his flock.
The guru’s counsel has cited ill-health as the reason for his failure to appear three times in the high court, but an official involved in the case accused him of openly defying the court.
“Baba Rampal has raised a private army of supporters who are openly confronting with the police, the government and the administration,” said Anupam Gupta, an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, a party that offers information in a case.
“He has openly proclaimed that he is above the law and judicial systems,” Gupta told reporters.
India has been shaken by several scandals involving immensely popular “godmen”, mostly Hindu ascetics who claim mystical powers. Last year, one was charged with sexually assaulting a schoolgirl.
On his website Rampal, an engineer by trade, says he follows the 15th-century mystic poet Kabir, who has many devotees in India and abroad. He says he became a guru after years of failing to attain mental peace and “complete salvation” by visiting temples and worshipping gods.
For many Indians, gurus play an integral role in daily life. They say they offer a pathway to enlightenment in return for spiritual devotion and often donations to ashrams, temples and charity projects.