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Haryana ashram clashes: India police vow to arrest guru Guru Rampal clashes: Indian police find five bodies
(about 4 hours later)
Police in India's Haryana state are continuing an operation to arrest a Hindu guru, after nearly 200 people were injured in clashes at his ashram on Tuesday. Indian police say the bodies of four women and a child have been found at the ashram of a controversial guru following clashes between his supporters and the security forces.
Their cause of death is being investigated.
Police tried to storm the complex in northern Haryana state on Tuesday. Nearly 200 people were injured.
The self-styled guru, known as Rampal, is wanted in connection with a 2006 murder case and for contempt of court.The self-styled guru, known as Rampal, is wanted in connection with a 2006 murder case and for contempt of court.
Thousands of his supporters are protecting the Barwala town compound. Several thousand policemen are still outside the ashram and the situation is described as tense.
Police say armed supporters are holding people hostage and using women and children as human shields. A week-long stand-off at the Satlok Ashram - some 170km (105 miles) north-east of Delhi - escalated on Tuesday as police moved in to arrest Rampal. Police fired tear gas and used bulldozers to try to break into the sprawling complex, while ashram members threw stones and other missiles and opened fire.
A week-long stand-off at the Satlok Ashram - some 170km (105 miles) north-east of Delhi - escalated on Tuesday as police moved in to arrest Rampal. Police say the bodies of those brought out of the ashram on Wednesday did not "bear any injuries".
Police fired tear gas and used bulldozers to try to break into the sprawling complex, while ashram members threw stones and other missiles and opened fire. "We don't know when the deaths [of the four woman and the child] occurred and it is not clear how they died. We are waiting for the post mortem reports," Haryana police chief SN Vashisht told reporters.
More than 100 policemen and 85 devotees of the guru sustained injuries, said police. A fifth woman, aged 20, who came out of the ashram early on Wednesday in a "serious condition" had died in a local hospital, he said, adding that she had been undergoing treatment for a heart condition.
The unrest continued on Wednesday morning as several thousand policemen stood outside the ashram. At the scene: Atish Patel
Journalist Atish Patel told the BBC from the scene that some 30 buses carrying policemen from neighbouring areas had arrived and that police had blocked the main road to the ashram. Outside the ashram, there's a long line of buses that have carried police officers from neighbouring areas. Scattered around the buses are vehicles belonging to the media.
The ashram is surrounded by farms and policemen have spread out across the surrounding fields, he says. There's just one road that leads to the ashram from Bawala town and that's been blocked by the police to the public.
The ashram is surrounded by farmland and police officers in army fatigue equipped with helmets and shields have spread out across the surrounding fields.
Also on a stretch of road some 2km (1.24 miles) away from the ashram there are several abandoned cars parked on the side with their windows smashed.
These cars were used by Rampal's supporters as a barricade outside the ashram's main gate. Police removed these vehicles on Monday.
It is calm, but tension is mounting as more police officers arrive to prepare for the day.
Many people visit the guru, believing he can cure them or their relatives of their illnesses, say police who accuse his armed supporters of holding people hostage and using women and children as human shields.
Some 10,000 of these devotees left the ashram overnight after police suspended operations, Mr Vashisht said, adding that another 5,000 people were still holed up inside.
At least 270 people have been arrested in connection with Tuesday's clashes and charged with rioting, illegal detention, attempt to murder and waging war against the state.
Police believe Rampal is still inside the ashram, despite the guru's spokesperson telling the media that he had already "been shifted out and is undergoing treatment in a private hospital outside the state".
"Rampal is still inside, according to our information, and we are advising him to surrender," Mr Vashisht said.
Police have also cut off power and water supplies to the complex.Police have also cut off power and water supplies to the complex.
Reports say that some 60 devotees managed to slip out of the Satlok Ashram, but several hundred are reportedly still held up inside. Police say many are being held against their will.
Mani Ram, a devotee who managed to escape, told the Indian Express newspaper that ashram authorities had prevented them from leaving for two days, insisting police would kill them if they went outside.Mani Ram, a devotee who managed to escape, told the Indian Express newspaper that ashram authorities had prevented them from leaving for two days, insisting police would kill them if they went outside.
A spokesperson for the ashram, Raj Kumar, was quoted as saying in the Indian Express newspaper that "innocent people have lost their lives" in the fighting and that "eight bodies were lying inside the ashram, of which four are women".
But Haryana police chief N Vashisth denied there had been any deaths, saying that "we have ensured that no innocent person is harmed, and so far no such casualty has come to our notice".
Rampal is accused of involvement in a murder case dating from 2006 in which a man died in a clash at another of his ashrams.
He denies these allegations and is on bail, but authorities ordered his arrest on contempt charges after he failed to appear in court several times.
It remains unclear whether he is still inside the complex.
Police say he is, but Mr Kumar said he had already "been shifted out and is undergoing treatment in a private hospital outside the state".
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had set a final deadline for Rampal to appear in court on Monday in the contempt case.
Rampal ignored the summons and his lawyers said he was too ill to make the 250km (155-mile) journey to the court in Chandigarh, which serves as the capital of both states.
The judges criticised the government, saying they "lacked the will" to arrest the guru and said he must be presented at court by Friday.
Who is Rampal?Who is Rampal?
Rampal began his life as a junior engineer in the irrigation department in Haryana after picking up a diploma in engineering, according to his website.Rampal began his life as a junior engineer in the irrigation department in Haryana after picking up a diploma in engineering, according to his website.
Born in a farming family, Rampal was apparently of a "religious nature since his childhood". He began giving talks to groups of people in 1994. Encouraged by a growing number of devotees, he set up the Satlok Ashram in 1999. The year after that Rampal resigned from his government job.Born in a farming family, Rampal was apparently of a "religious nature since his childhood". He began giving talks to groups of people in 1994. Encouraged by a growing number of devotees, he set up the Satlok Ashram in 1999. The year after that Rampal resigned from his government job.
The guru now has tens of thousands of devotees in several Indian states who have "given up alcohol, marijuana, smoking, meat, egg, and social evils like idol worship... fasting etc, baseless reverences" after becoming his followers, his website says.
Rampal claims that "thousands of people have got their chronic illnesses cured" and "ruined families have become prosperous again" after coming in contact with him.
Rampal's website details a number of cases against the guru. They relate to allegedly fraudulent purchase of land, conflicts with some devotees and an alleged case of murder involving the death of a man at another ashram in Rohtak. They dismiss all of these cases as false and fabricated.Rampal's website details a number of cases against the guru. They relate to allegedly fraudulent purchase of land, conflicts with some devotees and an alleged case of murder involving the death of a man at another ashram in Rohtak. They dismiss all of these cases as false and fabricated.
Rampal is a tech-savvy guru - his website contains live streaming discourses and offers downloads of a number of his religious books. The website also contains video entitled "God has descended to Haryana".Rampal is a tech-savvy guru - his website contains live streaming discourses and offers downloads of a number of his religious books. The website also contains video entitled "God has descended to Haryana".
Rampal is accused of involvement in a murder case dating from 2006 in which a man died in a clash at another of his ashrams.
He denies these allegations and is on bail, but authorities ordered his arrest on contempt charges after he repeatedly failed to appear in court.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had set a final deadline for Rampal to appear in court on Monday in the contempt case.
Rampal ignored the summons and his lawyers said he was too ill to make the 250km (155-mile) journey to the court in Chandigarh, which serves as the capital of both states.
The judges criticised the government, saying they "lacked the will" to arrest the guru and said he must be presented in court by Friday.