Self-styled Godman Rampal Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in Two 2014 Murder Cases; Hisar on Alert

The self-styled godman was arrested on November 19, 2014, after two murder cases were registered against him.

New Delhi: A sessions court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to self-styled godman Rampal in connection with two murder cases against him. Reports claimed that the quantum of punishment was pronounced  from a makeshift court in the premises of Hisar Central Jail to avoid untoward incident.

Last week, Additional District and Sessions Judge, Hisar, D R Chaliya held Rampal and some of his followers guilty.

The lawyer for Rampal said he will move the High Court against the verdict. “We will appeal in the High Court. These people were in fact trying to save the people who have lost their lives. They have been given life imprisonment under Section 302, life imprisonment under Section 120, two years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5000 under Section 343,” said Rampal’s lawyer AP Singh.

The self-styled godman was arrested on November 19, 2014, after two murder cases were registered against him.

In the first case, Rampal and his followers were booked on charges of murder and wrongful confinement after four women and a child were found dead at the former’s Stalok Ashram in Hisar’s Barwala town on November 19, 2014.

Another case was registered against Rampal and his followers after a woman was found dead in his ashram on November 18.

Meanwhile, the district Hisar administration had has made adequate security arrangements to avoid untoward incident as his followers might throng the city and create ruckus.  Last year in August, after self-styled godman Ram Rahim‘s conviction in rape cases his supporters had resorted to violence in Hisar, leaving 30 people dead.

About Rampal

Before becoming a self-styled godman, Rampal was an ordinary boy who obtained a diploma degree from the Industrial Training Institute in Nilokheri and later on worked for an irrigation department in Haryana. In 1996, Rampal resigned from as a junior engineer. However, Rampal was reportedly forced to resign from the job because of his careless attitude towards work. Soon after, he started giving religious sermons in various parts of the state.