Sorry for deaths of followers, charges against me are false, says Rampal

Arrested controversial godman Rampal on Thursday rejected charges that he had asked thousands of his followers to be kept hostage for past several days inside his ashram at Barwala to evade police action in a contempt of court case.

“Yeah jhuthee ilzaam hein (these are false allegations),” said the 63-year-old godman after his medical examination was conducted at GeneralHospital.

Asked about claims of his followers that they had been kept hostage by his private armed commandos and other henchmen, Rampal in his first reaction after his arrest, said, “No, this is not true.”

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He said he regretted the deaths of six of his followers, but stressed that he did not use his devotees as a human shield in a lengthy and violent stand-off with the police.

As journalists fired a volley of questions at him, Rampal kept walking towards a waiting police vehicle, jostling his way through the battery of mediapersons who surrounded him.

He will be later on Thursday produced before Punjab and Haryana high court in a contempt case.

Earlier, the medical examination of Rampal, who was arrested from his Satlok Ashram in Hisar’s Barwala town, was conducted at the Government General hospital at Panchkula, with a doctor describing his major health parameters as “stable”.

Image: Controversial godman Rampal behind bars at Panchkula police station. Photograph: ANI/Twitter