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Fugitive guru Baba Rampal arrested after stand-off with Indian police
By Ellen Barry
Delhi: A self-styled "godman", or guru, has been arrested after a tense week-long stand-off with police, who had attempted to storm the heavily fortified compound where he was blockaded with an estimated 15,000 followers.
Baba Rampal Maharaj, 63, considers himself the reincarnation of Kabir, a 15th-century mystic poet.
Police in the northern state of Haryana sought to arrest him on charges of conspiracy to murder, incitement of violence and contempt of court in connection with a confrontation in 2006 between his disciples and adherents of another sect. He had missed more than 40 court appearances.
Ranjit Singh, a police spokesman, said Rampal was taken away from the ashram in an ambulance and would be sent for medical checks before appearing in court.
During the stand-off, thousands of uniformed police officers gathered outside the high, steel-reinforced walls of Rampal's 4.8-hectare ashram, in the city of Barwala, firing tear gas and demolishing the outer wall with a bulldozer.
Numerous spiritualists can be found throughout India and often they establish gated communities complete with hospitals, schools and stadiums. Many cultivate relationships with political parties, which call on them to mobilise voters for elections, and are financed by wealthy and influential patrons. Occasionally, the authorities take action against them over criminal cases, leading to protracted, violent confrontations.
More than 10,000 people fled Rampal's compound on Tuesday and Wednesday, but several thousand remained inside, said M. L. Kaushik, the top civil servant in the Hisar district. He said authorities had cut off the compound's water and electricity about five days ago.
Many of those who fled said they had to fight their way out of the ashram, while police said followers had been used as human shields to protect the guru.
Six people died in the compound and several bodies were brought out on Wednesday. Though post-mortem examinations had not yet been conducted, Mr Kaushik said none of the bodies showed marks of external injury.
"Family members said that they were inside the ashram for the last three months for some kind of treatment," he said.
An additional 92 people have been hospitalised, most with minor injuries, bone fractures or shock, said Dr Jugal Kishore, of the Maharaja Agrasen Medical College in nearby Agroha.
Haryana police chief S. N. Vashisht said the police had faced a well-organised group of defenders from inside the compound, using petrol bombs, diesel bombs, acid pouches, illegal arms, stones and sticks as missiles against the police. He said 100 officers had been injured during the confrontation on Tuesday, some by gunshots, and 430 people had been arrested.
Some of Rampal's followers disputed that account.
"The police and administration created all the violence," one follower, Saheb Dass, said. He denied those inside the compound were armed. Rampal had failed to appear in court on the contempt of court charges because he was ill, and would do so when he recovered, Mr Dass said.
"He is our god," Mr Dass said. "We believe him 100 per cent. He gives us spiritual knowledge. He explains us the meaning of god. He is our god. Whatever he says proves true 100 per cent."
New York Times, AFP