Rampal

Rampal (born 8 September 1951) is a controversial Indian religious leader (godman), who claims to be a spiritual successor and an incarnation of Kabir. He is currently under a life sentence for murder in the Hisar Central jail.In 2006, Rampal criticised Arya Samaj. This resulted in violent clashes between the followers of the two sects, in which an Arya Samaj follower was killed. Rampal was charged with murder and arrested. After spending several months in jail, he was released on bail in 2008. In November 2014, after he had failed to appear in the court multiple times, the court ordered his arrest. However, the presence of fifteen thousand of his followers in his Satlok ashram premises at Barwala, allegedly confined by his aides, prevented the police from arresting him for several days. He was finally arrested on 19 November 2014 after violent clashes between his followers and paramilitary police forces that led to death of 6 people. Rampal was acquitted of the charges of wrongful confinement in court on 29 August. He continues to remain in prison on other charges including murder and sedition. On 11 October Rampal along with fourteen of his followers were convicted in two cases of murder by the Hisar court. The charges arose out of the murder of five women and an infant during the standoff while he was arrested. All the convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment along with a Rs 2 Lakh fine each in both the cases.He was mentioned in a list of fake sadhus released by Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, the apex organisation of Hindu Sants (saints) and Sadhus (ascetics) in India.

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