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Rampal diary
Lording over 12 acres of luxury
Private army of black cats |
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Locals relieved
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Loss of faith, and a lot of face The long arm of law was rather strained in catching up with ‘godman’ Rampal. Charged with many crimes, the defiant preacher is now at the mercy of the very judiciary he was contemptuous of. By Sushil Manav
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many in the country had heard about Rampal, a junior engineer-turned-preacher, till the police carried out a massive operation at his Satlok Ashram, where he had holed himself up using innocent women and children as human shields. Rampal and his ashram at Barwala, Haryana, hogged the headlines after he defied non-bailable warrants by the Punjab and Haryana High Court twice, forcing an infuriated court to ask the Haryana Police to bring him out of his hideout. With a huge following, Rampal began to consider himself above the law of the land and even formed an army of commandos. He had many facets — an incarnation of God for his followers, a hated personality for those living near his ashram, and a fugitive in the eyes of the law.
The making of ‘godman’ Known as Jagatguru Rampal ji Maharaj, the 63-year-old “godman” worked in the Irrigation Department in Haryana till 2000. Born on September 8, 1951, in Sonepat, he was removed from his job at the age of 48 for “carelessness”. By then, however, his life had taken a “spiritual” turn and till recently, his disciples considered him the incarnation of the poet Kabir. Rampal established his first ashram in Rohtak district’s Karontha village in 1999. Later, he set up several ashrams across the state, including the one at Barwala. However, Arya Samajis near his Karontha ashram took him on after he allegedly made derogatory remarks against Swami Dayanand Saraswati and his book “Satyarth Prakash”. In 2006, the rift between the two groups culminated in a clash that claimed one life. He was arrested after charges of murder and attempt to murder were slapped against him. Rampal, who accused former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda of hostility, was released on bail in 2008, after which he shifted base to Barwala. Acting on his application, the high court and later the Supreme Court ordered the Rohtak administration to hand over Karontha ashram to Rampal. However, in a clash that ensued between Arya Samajis and his followers on May 12, 2013, two persons were killed and around 100 injured. In July this year, Rampal and his followers went on the rampage in a Hisar court, where he was to appear for a trial. It was during the hearing of a contempt of court case against him that Rampal evaded summons and non-bailable warrants, inviting the wrath of the high court. He is said to have over 25 lakh followers in Haryana, UP, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi.
Running down judiciary In two books published by the ashram, Rampal demeans the judiciary and some judges of the state. Before the police laid siege to the ashram this month, the books “Corrupt Judges on Wrong Path” and “Nyayalya ki Girti Garima, Desh ka Durbhagya” were distributed by his followers among those passing the ashram. The 122-page “Nyayalaya ki Girti Garima” is a memorandum to the Prime Minster and bears the names and signatures of 1,000 persons. It reproduces news reports regarding the Supreme Court’s observation on corruption in judiciary. “Corrupt Judges on Wrong Path” is a memorandum to the President of India, in which the ashram interprets judgments in its cases. The book uses derogative and contemptuous language for the judiciary. His followers believe it. “Who is bigger, law or God? Law is for people like us, but Rampal is an incarnation of God. No law applies to him,” says Ram Avtar, a disciple.
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Lording over 12 acres of luxury
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qualified civil engineer, Rampal designed the ashram, which is an engineering marvel from the point of view of security. The sprawling complex had special features, including an enclosure over an elevated stage in front of the “satsang” hall where he delivered sermons. His fortified five-storeyed house at the far end of the ashram redefines luxury. His chair was fixed on an elevated stage, behind bulletproof glass, that helped him project himself as a man with divine powers. The enclosure was fitted with a teleprompter for him to read out “shlokas” from the Vedas to give the impression of a learned and enlightened man. He used a battery-operated wheel trolley-fitted chair to move in the ashram. The ashram could accommodate around 40,000 people and had all basic facilities to meet the needs of his followers. At the entrances, the left flank was used to stow luggage of visitors while the right flank housed the inquiry and IT section. Women and men were scanned with metal detectors in separate rooms. The “satsang” hall was as big as a football ground and another equally huge hall was used for langar and lodging facilities. Contrary to reports that the ashram had run out of essential commodities, a huge quantity of ration was stocked inside the kitchen spread over an acre. There was no shortage of water as three underground tanks were full. Medicines, including ayurvedic tablets, donned a shelf in his rest room, indicating he would use these for his ailments, while claiming to treat his followers of chronic diseases.
Five-star facilities
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People
across the country watched in horror as hundreds of athletic youths in black took position on the roof and the main gate as the police laid siege to the ashram and news channels began airing live coverage of action against Rampal. Though they were a poor imitation of NSG commandos, the image of the lathi-wielding youths was enough to create terror among the onlookers. Various stories regarding the commandos, their training and weapons have been doing the rounds. The commandos were the first to confront the police and injured several policemen in retaliatory action after the police launched an attack on the ashram. None of the 12-odd injured commandos, admitted to Maharaja Agarsen Medical College, Agroha, have given complete address to the police or hospital authorities. “We do not know whether they have given us the right names. Some of them have given names of villages in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, but have expressed ignorance about the police station under whose jurisdiction the villages fall,” says a policeman guarding the ward. “The police will get to the bottom of their antecedents once they are discharged and are fit for interrogation,” he adds. Security agencies believe that many of these commandoes could be proclaimed offenders or bail-jumpers from their areas. Though the local agencies are not ruling out the possibility of the commandos’ Maoist links, the Ministry of Home Affairs has ruled it out. There are reports that ex-servicemen and police officials were involved in the training of these commandos, though it has not been established.
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large number of people from nearby villages gathered outside the ashram after the police began vacating the premises after Rampal’s arrest.
“Saab, yo Rampal ab pakka jail gaya ke? Kahin vapis to nahin ajayega? (Sir, has Rampal gone to jail for good? Are you sure he will not return to the ashram?),” asks Rajroop, a farmer from Hassangarh village near the ashram. “He and his goons had made our lives hell,” he claims. Rampal’s men would beat up locals over petty issues after forcibly taking them inside the ashram. “People feared going to their fields alone due to the fear of his men, Rajroop says. “If accidentally, we hit their vehicles, they would thrash us and would charge hefty amounts as compensation,” he adds. Rajesh, a youth from Barwala, says the stench of sewage from the ashram pervaded the fields. “Initially, his followers would defecate in the fields. This rendered the fields unfit for cultivation. After villagers opposed it, this practice stopped,” he says. Amarjit from nearby Sarsod village, says Rampal’s teachings were against their common beliefs. “He would denounce customs and rituals our people have been following for ages. He would say people should not sit in mourning when an elder passes away. For him, family ties had no meaning,” he says. Rampal’s ashram, spread over 12 acres, did not have local disciples. Sunil from Barwala says Rampal preached adharm, not religion. Most of his disciples are from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, UP, Himachal Pradesh and Nepal. Even at Karontha village in Rohtak, where Rampal had built his earlier ashram, locals are against him. It was here that his followers clashed with the locals, leading to the registration of criminal cases against Rampal in 2006. Villagers of Barwala and Karontha distributed “laddoos” following his arrest.
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Rampal, an accused in a case of murder and an attempt to murder case, may have to spend the rest of his life in jail, as per KC Mehta, a lawyer at the Fatehabad district courts. Rampal also faces a contempt of court case, besides cases of sedition, rioting, and under various sections of the IPC and Arms Act.
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