Haryana: Self-styled godman Rampal sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with two murder case

Chandigarh, Oct 11: A hisar court on Tuesday sentenced life imprisonment to controversial self-styled godman Rampal and his 27 supporters in two murder cases.

Self-styled godman Rampal was on Thursday held guilty by Hisar Court in two cases of murder filed against him.

Rampal, who enjoys a huge fan following, is currently lodged at Hisar's Central Jail-2.

Rampal and 27 of his followers were booked on charges of murder and wrongful confinement after four women and a child were found dead in Satlok Ashram in Barwala town of Hisar on November 19, 2014.It followed police action to arrest him after a clash of his followers with local residents.

Who is Rampal:

Rampal is an Indian religious leader of Kabir panth, often described as a self-styled godman. He is the founder of a Satlok Ashram, a socio-spiritual movement popular in Haryana state. His sect prohibits temple visits, idol worship, untouchability, adultery and "vulgar singing and dancing", among other things.

According to Rampal, the Hindu trinity along with their parents have misled people into illusion instead of the worship of Sat Purush (the ultimate god). He instead recommends worshipping Kabir as the supreme god.

Rampal was born Rampal Singh Jatin in Dhanana, a village in the Gohana tehsil of Sonepat district, Punjab (part of Haryana since 1966). His father Nand Lal was a farmer, and his mother Indira Devi was a housewife.

He obtained a diploma from the Industrial Training Institute in Nilokheri, and then worked as a junior engineer in the Government of Haryana's irrigation department.In 1996, he resigned from the job.

In 1999, Rampal founded the Satlok Ashram in Karotha village of Rohtak district, drawing on his following from within the Kabir panth. At that time, he lived in Shastri Nagar of Rohtak with his wife and two sons; his two daughters had married.