Court sentences self-styled godman Rampal, 13 others to life imprisonment for murder

Self-styled godman Rampal (Express Photo/Jaipal Singh/File)

A Chandigarh court Wednesday sentenced self-styled godman Rampal to life imprisonment in connection with a 2014 murder case. Thirteen others were also awarded the same sentence. They were convicted on October 11 for murder and other offences, including wrongful confinement, after a woman died during a two-week standoff with the Haryana Police at Rampal’s Satlok Ashram in Hissar. A penalty of Rs 2.05 lakh has also been imposed on each of them.

The court Tuesday had sentenced Rampal and 14 others to life imprisonment in another case, connected to the death of four women and a child, who had died of suffocation and illness during the impasse at his hermitage. Rampal and his aides were convicted under Sections 302 (murder), 343 (wrongful confinement) and 120 B (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in this case.

Also read | Rampal, 14 followers get life imprisonment for murder of four women, one child

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The cases date back to November 2014, when the Punjab Haryana High Court directed the police to arrest Rampal after he failed to appear before the court. When the police moved to arrest him, his followers barricaded themselves inside Rampal’s Satlok Ashram, located near Barwala town in Hisar district, leading to a violent confrontation. After a two-week standoff, Rampal was finally arrested on November 19, 2014, and the police evacuated 20,000 others from the ashram.

As many as six FIRs were filed against Rampal and his supporters after the incident. Rampal has been acquitted in two other cases, while two cases are pending.