Rampal Singh Jatin @ Rampal, cult leader
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Rampal: A self-styled godman who was once an engineer IANS | Nov 18, 2014
Interesting facts about self-styled godman Rampal November 19, 2014 – Zee News
Early life
Born Sep 8, 1951, in Dhanana village near Gohana town of Haryana's Sonipat district, Rampal came from a family of farmers, his official website claims.
Though he got a Diploma in engineering and became a JE, he was of a religious nature. Controversial sect leader Rampal, whose supporters on Tuesday battled the police, was once a junior engineer with the Haryana government.
Till the year 2000, Rampal was Rampal Singh Jatin, a dowdy junior engineer (JE) with the Haryana irrigation department.
After he was found 'careless' about his work, Rampal submitted his resignation. This was finally accepted in May 2000 with effect from May 1995.
Rise as cult leader
After quitting government service, Rampal devoted himself full time to becoming a cult leader. On becoming a cult head he assumed the name Satguru Rampal Ji Maharaj. Rampal met Kabir Panthi Saint Swami Ramdevanand Ji Maharaj and became a disciple of sant Kabir.Now Rampal claims to be an incarnation of the 15th century mystic poet Kabir.
Rampal is popular among a section of people, mostly from the lower strata of society. He preaches them not to worship gods, not to fast and not to indulge in other practices that the Hindu religion follows.
In 2014 refused to appear before the high court despite non-bailable warrants being issued against him. Nov 2014: His followers fought pitched battles with security forces who were closing in to arrest him as per high court directions.)
In 1988, Rampal took Naam Updesh from Kabir Panthi Sant Ramdevanand.
By 1993, Rampal was addressing satsangs.
In 1999, Rampal sets up Satlok Ashram in Rohtak’s Karontha village while in govt service.
Rampal's Satlok ashram in Karontha, Rohtak, Haryana (Photo by Getty Images)
Rampal started setting up ashrams across Haryana, including his current location at Barwala.
Rampal's hostility with Arya Samajis started from 2000 when he made derogatory remarks against Swami Dayanand Saraswati.
Material wealth
Rampal heads a dera or cult worth Rs. 100 crores and owns a fleet of luxury cars, including BMWs and Mercedes and lives an ashram in Barwala, Haryana, spread over a sprawling 12 acres.
He is said to own property in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and also in Delhi
The ashram is said to have air-conditioned rooms for important followers of Rampal and even lecture halls equipped with LED screens for the self-styled Godman, who has a Facebook page and a Youtube channel where recordings of his sermons can be viewed.
Following
Rampal is said to have over 25 lakh followers in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi.
His Facebook page recorded over 2,000 new likes in just one day in Nov 2014 after the standoff with the police started.
Controversies
Controversies are nothing new for Rampal.
He was forced to vacate his ashram in Karontha in Haryana's Rohtak district, which was established in 1999, following clashes with religious groups in July 2006.
In this clash at the Karontha ashram in 2006, one person died from bullet wounds. The police charged Rampal with murder. His sect claims that he was falsely implicated in the murder case.
Rampal's supporters and followers had indulged in vandalism when he was going to a court in Hisar town July this year. The Punjab and Haryana high court took suo moto notice of the incident and summoned Rampal.
However, the godman failed to appear before the high court, forcing the court to issue non-bailable warrants against him Nov 5, 2014. He was supposed to appear before the court Nov 10 and later on Nov 17 but he did not turn up, citing medical reasons.
Cases against Rampal
Cases against Haryana godman Rampal
TNN | Nov 18, 2014 The Times of India
Following are the cases against Haryana godman Rampal.
Murder
The Rohtak district administration had sealed Satlok Ashram at Karontha village after clashes between Rampal disciples and Arya Samaj followers in July 2006 in which a youth was killed rom bullet woundsand 59 injured. Later, police booked Rampal and several of his disciples under Section 302 (murder) and arrested him. Rampal got bail after spending 22 months in jail and shifted his base to Barwala town in Hisar district.
His sect claims that he was falsely implicated in the murder case. Rampal's supporrtes had clashed with police when he was being taken to be produced in the court in connection wit the particular case. The Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo moto notice of the incident and summoned Rampal.
However, the cult leader failed to appear before the high court, forcing the court to issue non-bailable warrants against him Nov 5. He was supposed to appear before the court Nov 10 and later on Nov 17 but he did not turn up, citing medical reasons.
Forgery
Another FIR was registered against Rampal and his followers for forgery when a complaint was filed against him a day after the clash with Arya Samajis in 2006. It was alleged that Satlok Ashram at Karontha village was built on a piece of land obtained through forgery. According to a Haryana police report submitted before the sessions court in Rohtak, the land "donated" to build the ashram was "gifted" by a woman, Krishna, who impersonated the real owner Kamla in 1999. Three acres out of the over 16 acre land of the ashram belonged to four members of Kamla's family, including her brother Rajender Singh. Kamla's share was less than one acre. On its part, the ashram ridiculed all these charges in its website.
Assault
An FIR was registered against seven supporters of Rampal, including a woman, on May 5, 2013. Anil Kumar, a resident of Atawala village in Panipat district, complained to the police that the preacher's followers thrashed him at the Ashram. "They wanted me to give in writing that I am a spy of Arya Samaj. They also prepared my video recording forcing me to give statements against Arya Samaj leader," Anil said in the FIR.
Criminal intimidation
Another FIR was registered on May 9, 2013 against the followers of Rampal for issuing threats to Arya Samajis. According to the complaint filed by secretary of Haryana Gaushala Sangh Achayra Sarv Mitar, the followers of Rampal telephoned the office-bearers of Arya Samaj and threatened them.
Arya Samaj activist's murder
Three people, including a woman, were killed and around 100 injured in police firing on activists of Arya Samaj who were protesting against handing over the possession of an ashram to Rampal in Karontha village on May 12, 2013. A day after this, a murder case was registered against Rampal for allegedly killing an Arya Samaj activist Promila Devi. According to the FIR, Promila was hit by a bullet fired from the ashram when she was returning home from the farm fields. He brother Satnarayan alleged that she was shot on the instructions of Rampal.
Skirmishes with the law
Rampal has been to jail on the charge of murder and is out on bail. When his original ashram in Rohtak, also in Haryana, was attached, he relocated his headquarters to Barwala. Another ashram is under construction in Barwala not far away.,
In 200-14, he skipped court 43 times.
Rashtriya Samaj Sewa Samiti (R.S.S.S.): Rampal’s army
R.S.S.S. functions like an army battalion divided into several companies & platoons.
Each company and platoon is headed by trained commanders.
During the standoff with the state police in Nov 2014 they assembled every morning and evening to be briefed about day’s routine. Armed with pistols, R.S.S.S.’s Quick Reaction Team patrol ashram round the clock.
Intelligence wing monitors police movement in adjoining Barwala and Hisar towns.
The Intelligence wing relays information to ashram HQ. What cops were up against were: Armed men, acid tankers, crude bombs, petrol bombs, oil, empty bottles
4,000 men from Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana guard ashram 24x7
They are armed with sophisticated pistols and guns
Rampal’s army dress in black and are strategically deployed over the 12-acre sprawl
Rampal's army communicates via walkie-talkies
Rampal’s rambos are controlled from a war room in the ashram
The Nov 2014 clash with the law
Charged with sedition or waging war against the nation, the controversial guru is believed to be holed up inside the ashram right now along with 5000 supporters.
Four women and a baby died at the ashram, where his followers, who call themselves 'Baba's Commandos', clashed with the police in Nov 2014, using acid, bombs and guns to prevent his arrest ordered by a High Court.
The police said they were not able to storm the ashram as Rampal has been using women and children as shields.The ashram's walls are over 30 feet high and two feet wide.
However, on 19 Nov 2014, the Haryana police was able to arrest Rampal.
The siege of 5-19 Nov 2014
The Haryana Police went to arrest Rampal after he defied summons and fell in contempt of court, with the Punjab and Haryana high court issuing non-bailable warrants against him on November 5.
Squeezed inside his 12-acre ashram by authorities, Rampal held out against the cops for almost 15 days with his groupies creating a human shield of nearly 15,000 followers from different parts of the country. To deter them from arresting Rampal, they had laid elaborate security plans for the ashram with armed militia at vantage points.
"Despite firing from private weapons from within the ashram and other kind of attacks, police did not fire or retaliate. All this was to ensure that innocent people don't suffer, said principal secretary to chief minister Sanjeev Kaushal.
Five women and an 18-month-old infant were killed in violence against the police, and more than 200 people injured including around 70 journalists and 105 policemen.
After police stopped the operation on 18 Nov evening, the management had closed all the gates, suffocating people inside the 12-acre covered area. Tear gas shells and smoke added to the devotees' woes.
As the power connection to the ashram was cut for the last five days, the atmosphere inside turned dark, hot and humid. Even the exhaust fans mounted on the roof had stopped working and the devotees started complaining.
No power supply, suffocation, shortage of food, lack of drinking water and exhaust fans forced Rampal's followers to flee
The devotees were not in touch with their family for days together as their mobile batteries exhausted after the power supply was cut
10 days sleepless nights demoralized them
Death of some followers due to police action spread panic
Finally, it was Rampal's followers, who were his biggest strength, did him in on Wednesday. The staunch supporters of the controversial preacher started crumbling after the police action and around 2,500 of them challenged the ashram management around 11pm.
According to sources, they told the management that they wanted to leave the ashram. The management threatened them saying if they leave Rampal now, they should not come back to the ashram ever. However, they walked out of the premises and waiting police force took them to the bus stand.
With some of the followers walking out, other also followed suit and then a steady flow of people from the ashram continued till late in the evening. Around 10000 people had come out of the ashram without any confrontation
On the 15th day of brazen defiance of the judiciary and the police, controversial preacher Rampal was arrested outside his Satlok Ashram - the scene of pitched battles between his followers and the police - on 19 Nov 2014 around 9.30pm.
492 of his followers were arrested for violence and 71 of them jailed after appearing in a Hisar court. Those imprisoned included Rampal's key aide Purushottam Das. The goons had attacked police with firearms and Molotov cocktails - petrol and diesel bombs - when they had stormed the ashram on 18 Nov, leaving many cops badly injured.
