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Day after: Families of the deceased allege police action behind the deaths; followers recount tales of their woes inside Satlok Ashram
Key Rampal aides still out of police reach |
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Horrifying tales come out of closet
She went to Satlok Ashram, never to return
Don’t politicise ashram issue: Khattar
Abhay, Kiran flay BJP govt for ‘mishandling’ situation
Samrala court has declared Rampal PO
No support in native village
State to have hurdle-free footpaths
KU selects 8 scientists for Goyal awards
3 die in Yamunanagar
Body found near rail track
Faridabad likely to get 20,000 piped gas connections in a year
Dial Vigilance Dept to lodge graft plaints
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Day
after: Families of the deceased allege police action behind the deaths; followers recount tales of their woes inside Satlok Ashram
Agroha (Hisar), November 19 Raj Bala (70), Santosh (45), Sarita (31), Malkiat Kaur (50) and one-and-a-half year-old child Adarsh are alleged to have died in the police action yesterday. Rajni (25), who died after she was shifted to the medical college, had heart disease. Medical college director Dr Gopal Singal said the cause of death would be known after the post-mortem, which would be conducted in the presence of a magistrate by the evening. The post-mortem would be filmed on video. Santosh’s sons Pawan and Sandeep said their mother was part of the human shield outside the ashram when the police attacked the followers around noon on Tuesday. “We searched for her for two to three hours, but she was nowhere to be found. Around 4 pm, there was an announcement in the ashram. It was then that we came to know that she had died in the police action,” Sandeep said. He said it was today morning (Wednesday) that her mother’s as well as the other four bodies were taken out of the ashram. Sarita’s husband Shivpal of Delhi said his family was in the ashram when the police assaulted the devotees. “A teargas shell hurled landed on her face. There was a stampede-like situation after it. My wife fell unconscious after that. She died for the want of treatment,” Shivpal alleged. Malkiat Kaur’s husband Jarnail Singh of Sherpur near Sangrur (Punjab) had the same story to tell story. His wife, too, was hit by a tear gas shell and was found unconscious after the stampede that ensued. “I took her to the ashram dispensary, where she died while an injection was being administered to her,” Jarnail said. Adarsh’s grandfather Devender Singh said his grandson was unwell and the family had taken him to the ashram in the hope of treatment, but he developed breathlessness after teargas shells were hurled. Raj Bala’s family is yet to arrive from Bijnor district in Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, Surinder of Jind’s Nijwana Khurd village and Narinder of Delhi were brought to the medical college in a badly injured condition. “I had come to the ashram in the hope of treatment of my lumber disc problem, but was held up in the imbroglio. Today, the police assured us that we will be allowed safe passage to home. But once we came out, more than a dozen cops started raining batons on us and beat us up till we fell unconscious,” alleged Surinder. Security personnel guarding the injured persons said Surender was a spokesperson for the ashram. He, however, denied this and said he was an employee of a private company in Noida. Dalit woman from Sangrur among the dead
Sangrur: A Dalit woman Malkeet Kaur (60), from Sherpur village near Dhuri in Sangrur, died in the police crackdown on Satlok Ashram in Barwala on Tuesday. Malkeet was one of the several women who lost their lives during the police action. She had gone to the ashram about a week ago. It is learnt that Malkeet, who belonged to the Ramdas community, had started going to Satlok Ashram about six months ago when she got some relief from a disease after visiting the ashram for the first time. She is survived by her husband, two sons and three daughters.
— Sushil Goyal |
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Key Rampal aides still out of police reach Barwala (Hisar), November 19 His website jagatgururampalji.org has comprehensive details of his team. Besides Purshotam, there are seven others in Rampal's core team. They are designated as coordinators assigned duty in different parts of the country. Balwan Dass, a retired teacher hailing from Balak village is Rampal's second in command, who is stationed at Hisar. He looks after Hisar, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Bhiwani districts in Haryana and the states of Maharashtra, Bangal, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura. Purshotam was assigned northern districts and Chandigarh along with Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Rampal’s son, Virender Dass, is the third commander of the ashram posted at Rohtak and looks after Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh, besides Gurgaon district. Ram Kumar Dhaka, who heads the Rashtriya Samaj Sewa Samiti (RSSS) that formed the armed commando force, was ranked fourth in the list of Rampal's coordinators. He is followed by Chandi Ram, Mahender Dass (Rampal’s brother) and Manoj Dass (younger son of Rampal). His second rung of aides constitutes 29 coordinators who are given duty areas in different states across the country. Rampal had also assigned duty to two of his other confidants — Raj Kapoor and Rahul Dass, who has just done graduation. They are well-versed with the media functioning and issue statements and constantly monitor electronic news and print media clippings. Rampal has a team of doctors headed by Dr OP Hooda, a retired civil surgeon, who looks after the 20-bed hospital inside Satlok Ashram in Barwala. The inner circle
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Horrifying tales come out of closet
Jind, November 19 Several followers are frightened and term the past three days as the “darkest period” of their lives. “Followers have been without food and water for the past three to four days. I had tried to leave the premises earlier, but could not as Rampal’s ‘private army’ had separated my three children from me,” alleged Rati Ram from Kannauj district in Uttar Pradesh. Today morning, he found his children crying near the ashram. He left the premises with a group of 25 persons from Kannauj and reached the Jind railway station, 56 km from Barwala. Several devotees had reached the ashram by November 8 to attend a special satsang by Rampal. On realising that tension was building up, they tried to leave the ashram, but in vain. Rampal’s guards allegedly separated wives from their husbands and children to foil attempts to leave the ashram. “I had never imagined that my teenage son and daughter will have to stay without food for three days. It was the worst period of my life,” alleged Bharat Singh from Guna district in Madhya Pardesh. “I am yet to get over the trauma that I went through in the ashram,” he added. Several others had the similar tale to tell. Since power and water connections to the ashram were disconnected, it became difficult for the followers to live there. The worst affected were children, who cried for food. Hungry, followers reached the railway station around 9 am today. Locals provided them with food and arranged tickets for them till New Delhi.
"I had tried to leave the ashram earlier, but could not as Rampal’s ‘private army’ had separated me from my children. I found them crying near the ashram and left the premises soon" Rati Ram, native of UP
Bharat Singh, native of MP
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She went to Satlok Ashram, never to return
Rohtak, November 19 However, about 10-12 years ago, Santosh’s husband went missing. She was also suffering from some ailment. While searching for her husband, Santosh came in contact with a family whose members were followers of Rampal. They took her to the Ashram at Karontha village in the district. “Santosh got so influenced by the controversial sant that she snapped ties with the family and started staying at the ashram. She also took her sons, Pawan and Sandeep, along with her to the ashram and all three of them used to stay there most of the time,” said Santosh’s brother, Satpal. Santosh and Pawan left for Satlok Ashram, Barwala, about a fortnight ago. Last week, her second son Sandeep also reached there. Since then, they were putting up at the Barwala ashram. Santosh’s son called up his family in late hours yesterday and informed them that Santosh had died. He said the police action triggered a stampede at the ashram in which Santosh died. However, the exact cause would be known only after the postmortem. |
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Don’t politicise ashram issue: Khattar
Chandigarh/New Delhi, November 19 In a statement, Khattar said timely action had been taken by the Haryana Police with the assistance of the CRPF to arrest him. He expressed gratitude to the people of the state, especially the local residents, for extending support to the administration “in this hour of crisis and for showing patience despite inconvenience”. He arrived in the Capital today. He said the state government was committed to upholding the law and ensuring strict compliance with court’s direction. “Our first priority is to safely take out the children, women and the elderly stranded in the ashram and arrangements for their safe passage home. The police are working with great wisdom and restraint,“ Khattar said. More than 10,000 persons had so far been evacuated from the ashram and arrangements were being made for their safe passage to their respective destinations, he said. Expressing concern over the incident of misbehaviour with mediapersons during the police operation, he said it would be investigated. He further said arrangements for
the treatment of those injured in the operation had been made by the administration. Yesterday, the BJP government virtually went underground. Senior officers, including DGP SN Vashisht, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) PK Mahapatra and Principal Secretary to CM Sanjeev Kaushal, held the fort for the government and did the damage-controlling exercise particularly against the backdrop of the police attack on several mediapersons. The main Opposition INLD today stepped up attack on the BJP for its alleged hobnobbing with the self-styled godman for petty politics. “For some time now, the BJP has been hobnobbing with sect leaders and self-styled spiritualists to polarise and win votes. This also explains why the state administration perhaps hesitated in executing HC’s arrest warrants against Rampal. This reluctance not only amounted to challenging the authority of the High Court but also was an attempt to lower its dignity,” INLD state president Ashok Arora alleged. State Congress chief Ashok Tanwar alleged that the BJP government’s inexperience
and irresponsible behaviour led to a situation which resulted in putting lives of thousands of people at risk. Manohar Lal Khattar, CM Ashok Arora, state INLD president |
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Abhay, Kiran flay BJP govt for ‘mishandling’ situation
Sirsa, November 19 Speaking to mediapersons here today, Abhay said the improper handling of the situation had shown Khattar government’s inexperience and the bureaucracy’s failure. “The state government can take the excuse that it was new and inexperienced, but the bureaucracy cannot escape from its responsibility, as it was lack of foresightedness on part of senior police officers that turned the situation uglier,” he said. Kiran said the BJP government had proved a complete failure and Satlok Ashram had exposed its weakness. Speaking to The Tribune on phone, Kiran alleged that six people lost their lives and several people, including policemen and mediapersons, had been injured because of the lackadaisical attitude of the government. “Had the government acted in time, the loss of lives could have been avoided. However, the government allowed the situation to escalate,” she alleged. |
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Samrala court has declared Rampal PO
Samrala November 19 It is expected that after arrest of Rampal, the Punjab Police may bring him here on production warrant later. A case was registered against Rampal on January 5, 2013, under Sections 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. On January 4, some persons owing allegiance to Rampal distributed books in Samrala. It allegedly carried objectionable remarks against Sikh Gurus and other religions. Some persons from Samrala approached the police and got a case registered against Rampal and eight others. Later the court directed the police to arrest both the above said alleged accused and issued Non Bailable warrants against them but the police failed to locate them. On July 8, the police had presented a report, claiming objectionable remarks by Rampal and others in the books. But the police had filed a closure report on September 20, 2013 as, according to them, there was nothing objectionable in the books. The court rejected the report and issued non-bailable warrants on December 3, and again on January 27, 2014, and passed an order against a head constable who was tasked to make ensure the presence of the accused by March 18, 2014. Tainted past
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No support in native village
Sonepat, November 19 The villagers on the condition of anonymity condemned the developments and unanimously opined that Rampal should have appeared before the high court. There was no logic in putting the life of supporters in danger. He should have kept this in mind, they said. "Wo kahan ka baba hai, woh to dhongi hai" (How can he be a saint? He is a fraud), told some of the villagers to mediapersons in the village today. Another village resident, Hari Ram, recalled that Rampal was his classmate in the village primary school. He was a simple boy, he added. He said Rampal did his diploma in engineering school and joined service in 1983-84. He also recalled that after coming in contact with Kabirpanthi ideology, Rampal started preaching people by visiting their houses in the native and nearby villages. Once he picked up some dispute while preaching. After that he stopped going to villages and shifted to Karontha Ashram in Rohtak district, said Hari Ram. Sant Rampal was born in 1951 in Dhana village. He had not visited the village for the last 17-18 years. His younger brother, Mahinder, stayed in the village till the last two years. He had also sold his parental house to a villager in 2012 and settled outside. ‘Rampal a fraud’
Villagers condemned the developments and unanimously opined that Rampal should have appeared before the High Court. They said there was no logic in putting the life of supporters in danger. "How can he be a saint? He is a fraud," said some of the villagers |
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Media organisations observe black day
Sirsa: Media organisations on Wednesday observed a black day at Dabwali over the attack on mediapersons by the police outside Satlok Ashram yesterday. Dr Gulab Singh Sihag, president, Haryana Electronic Media Stringers Association, said the police action on the journalists was uncalled for and condemnable. Dr Sihag demanded punishment for those responsible for the attack. A meeting of the Press Club, Dabwali, was held in the PWD Rest House at Dabwali under Iqbal Singh Shant, president of the club. Shant alleged the police had failed to arrest Rampal and had attacked the media out of frustration.
— TNS Rampal should respect law: Rajasthan MP
Rohtak: The Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Haryana has demanded that Satlok Ashram at Karontha village in the district should be converted into a cowshed or a hospital. Appealing to legislators and administrative officials to convey the demand to the state authorities, the sabha maintained that if the government failed to do so, residents of nearby villages would raze the ashram themselves. Sabha members also alleged that the previous Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda had made all-out efforts to shield Rampal. Earlier, members of the sabha, a body of Arya Samaj followers, performed a havan at Karontha village. The local administration has already imposed Section 144, CrPC, to maintain peace and order in the area.
— TNS Panipat cop injured in clash with followers
Panipat: A cop from the Panipat district sustained injuries on his face while on duty outside the Satlok Ashram. Panipat Chandni Bagh police division in-charge inspector Ravi Khundia sustained serious injuries on his face when the followers started pelting stones at the policemen. Khundia is being treated at the government hospital in Hisar.
— TNS Five from Rohtak village ‘trapped’ in ashram
Rohtak: Bhagwatipur residents said nearly 20 fvillagers were followers of Rampal. Of these, five members of a family are still trapped in the Barwala ashram. Wishing for their well-being, their family members remain glued to the television set in the hope of getting some news about them.
— TNS |
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State to have hurdle-free footpaths
Kuruksehtra, November 19 After conducting surprise visits at the district Red Cross Society, civil hospital and a couple of institutions here in Kurukshetra on Wednesday, he said, “The state government has set three per cent quota for the disabled in the educational institutions and jobs. Besides, several beneficiary schemes are being run for them and inspections are being conducted to check whether, they are getting the benefits of the schemes or not.” He said, “During the inspection it has been observed that there is a need to improve the education standards. A proposal has been sent to the state government to open three new colleges in Haryana to provide higher education to children with special needs.” |
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12 officials found absent during inspection
Karnal, November 19 Kalyan also told the officials to conduct their duty with honesty. If they were found negligent, disciplinary action would be taken against them, said the MLA. Harvinder started the inspection from the Municipal Committee office at around 9 am and remained there for around 20 minutes. He was surprised when he found that four of the committee officials had not reached the office on time. Later, the MLA went to the tehsil office, where the situation was the same. After checking the attendance register, he found three officials absent. He fumed at seeing heaps of garbage lying on the second floor of the building and directed the officials to remove it immediately. Kalyan then reached a PHC here and asked patients about the facilities available to them. When he reached the BDPO complex, there was no one to attend to the elders and women who were there to enrol themselves for the Aadhaar card. The MLA made a call to the Indri SDM and directed him to solve the problems of the people. he remained there till the problem was solved. On getting complaints from the people regarding charging of money for filling the Aadhaar form, he scolded the officials and warned them against such illegal activities. “I got a complaint that the forms for Aadhaar card were being sold for Rs 4 and Rs 10 was being charged for filling it. I have directed the officials to ensure that no money is charged for the form and filling it,” said Kalyan. “I found three of the officials at the BDPO office absent and asked for the reason behind it. It was my first inspection and I would conduct such inspections on regular basis to ensure efficient work,” he said. After inspecting the BDPO complex, the MLA reached the market committee office, where he found two employees absent from duty. He also visited the UHBVN office. |
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Punjab BJP extends support to Bhai Gurbaksh’s fast
Ambala, November 19 Punjab BJP spokesperson RP Singh Maini, who met Bhai Gurbaksh Singh at Lakhnaur Sahib, said as the Akalis had distanced themselves from the issues raised by the Sikh activist, the BJP had come forward to support him in his struggle to get Sikh prisoners, who had completed their term, released. Maini said Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma had also spoken to Bhai Gurbaksh Singh over the phone, assuring him that the matter would be taken up with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Bhai Gurbaksh had started his second hunger strike at Lakhnour Sahib Gurdwara after he was denied permission by the SGPC to hold protest in any of the gurdwaras in Punjab. Speaking to The Tribune, Gurbaksh Singh said in the last 10 months, he had met the Akal Takht jathedar eight times, seeking release of Sikh prisoners as was promised by him when he had ended his hunger strike at Mohali last year. But the jathedar had remained cynical to the demands, he said. He said now he had pinned hope on the BJP governments in Haryana and the Centre. He said a delegation of Sikhs from the state would meet the Ambala Deputy Commissioner tomorrow and submit a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee, highlighting the plight of Sikhs prisoners in jails. Sangat detains two Punjab police personnel
The sangat sitting along with Bhai Gurbaksh Singh claimed that five Punjab police personnel tried to infiltrate into their gathering last night, but when they were identified, three of them fled from the gurdwara. However, the protesters detained two of them. They said though they initially denied being Punjab police personnel, they eventual admitted that they had been sent by their department to keep a vigil on their activities. The two were allowed to leave in the morning when their family members reached the gurdwara
and pleaded with Bhai Gurbaksh Singh. The protest
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KU selects 8 scientists for Goyal awards
Kurukshetra November 19 Dr RK Sinha, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Government of India (Applied Sciences); Prof E D Jemmis of IISc, Bangalore (Chemical Sciences), Prof MRS Rao of the JNCASR, Bangalore (Life Sciences), and Prof T. Padmanabhan of the IUCAA, Pune (Physical Sciences), had been selected for the Goyal Prize. The committee had also selected four scientists for the Rajib Goyal Prize for young scientists. They were Dr Shalabh Bhatnagar (Applied Sciences) and Dr KR Prasad (Chemical Sciences) from IISc, Bangalore; Dr Sanjay Mittal, IIT, Kanpur (Physical Sciences) and Dr. Anirban Basu, NBRC, Manesar, Haryana (Life Sciences). These prizes had been instituted by NRI philanthropist late Ram S Goyal of Chicago, USA.
— TNS |
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3 die in Yamunanagar
Yamunanagar, November 19 Roopchand came into contact with high-tension wires as he climbed on the roof of the goods train. In another incident, Sanjeev Kumar of Saharanpur died after he fell from a moving train near Kalanaur village of the district last night. Jaswinder of Shahpur village received serious injuries while getting into a train on the Mustafabad railway station on November 5. He succumbed to injuries last night at the PGI, Chandigarh.
— OC |
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Body found near rail track
Sonepat, November 19 After receiving information GRP station SHO Sube Singh and Gannaur post in charge sub inspector Ram Phal Prashar reached the spot along with the FSL team and found a headless, naked body lying along the tracks. The police searched in the nearby areas, but was unable to find head and clothes. The SHO said the exact cause of death would be ascertained after the postmortem examination. The identity of the victim could not be established, he added. “From the preliminary investigations it appears to be case of murder. The headless body was dumped on railway track to project it as a train accident,” said the
SHO. |
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SHO suspended, magisterial probe ordered
Tribune News Service
Jhajjar, November 19 Roy said the police had arrested three youths, who kidnapped the student to extort money from his parents. Nitin’s charred body was found lying in bushes along the NH-10 in Bahadurgarh yesterday. His kin and several others not only set two roadways’ buses and a traffic police post on fire but also blocked the NH for over 10 hours to protest the incident. They lifted the blockade around 9 pm yesterday after Commissioner Chander Prakash and IG Alok Roy assured them of suspending the SHO concerned and ordering a magisterial probe into the case. Jhajjar SP Balbir Singh, said Prem Bharti, who used to iron clothes near Nitin’s house in Sector 6 of Bahadurgarh, was the mastermind in the case . The ransom of Rs 90 lakh taken from Nitin’s kin had also been recovered from the accused. Prem Bharti along with his friends- Kamal and Rahul Dev of Haathras (UP) - had hatched the plot to extort money. The trio kept Nitin captive at their rented room in Sector 6 after kidnapping him on November 14,” said the SP, adding that they later strangled Nitin and hid his body in the toilet. The accused then went to UP and demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore by making a call from Nitin’s cellphone to his father next day. The kin fulfilled the ransom demand to get him released after informing the police, said Balwan Singh. After getting the ransom, the accused dumped the body near the HSIIDC office. All accused were nabbed from UP.
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Faridabad likely to get 20,000 piped gas connections in a year
Faridabad, November 19 “We plan to provide domestic piped gas supply in every residential sector and colony in the next few years,’’ claimed Basith Dholakia, vice president, commercial of the company. He said while around eight urban sectors and five villages had already been provided the facility; it would be extended to several new areas in the next 12 to 24 months. Revealing that localities including Green Valley, Sector - 36, 37, 19, 21-A, 21- B, 21-C and 21-D, already have the required infrastructure for a domestic PNG connection, some more sectors including Sector - 14, 15 and Sector - 9 are likely to be covered in the next 12 months. The villages already enjoying the facility include Dayalpur, Atali, Fafunda, and Korali. Chandawali are likely to get the facility in next few months, it is claimed. According to Dholakia, while the work of laying the basic infrastructure was going on a full scale, the total number of PNG connections in Faridabad district was likely to go up to 30,000 in the next one year. |
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Dial Vigilance Dept to lodge graft plaints
Kaithal, November 19 Deputy Commissioner NK Solanki said if any employee demands illegal gratification or any article for himself or any official, the complainant can pass on such information to the office of the director general (SVB) Panchkula at 0172-2571205 or at toll free no. 1064. To the office of SP (SVB) Ambala division at his office no. 0171-2550476, 2550506; at the office of DSP (SVB) Ambala at 0171-2550075 or at the office of Inspector (SVB) Kaithal at 0174-6235005 or 96714-00996. Immediate action will be taken on complaints lodged at these numbers, the DC said. |
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"I had never imagined that my teenage son and daughter will have to stay without food for three days. It was the worst period of my life. I am yet to get over the trauma that I went through in the
ashram"
"Our first priority is to safely take out the children, women and the elderly stranded in the ashram and make arrangements for their safe passage
home"
The BJP government’s reluctance not only amounted to challenging the authority of the
High Court, but also lowering its dignity
Kaithal: Mahant Chaand Nath, MP from Alwar, Rajasthan, has urged Sant Rampal to obey the directions of the Punjab and High Court and appear in the court .Mahant Chaand Nath, head of Math Asthalbhor, Rohtak, had come to Dhundva, a model village in Kalayat subdivision of this district, to participate in a religious ceremony on the installation of a statue of Sidh Baba Khaak Nath on Wednesday. He said no one was above the law. So, Sant Rampal should respect the law of the land.
— TNS