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Self-styled 'godman' Rampal in deep trouble, faces fresh murder charges

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Godman Rampal was headed for deeper trouble with Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday cancelling his bail in a murder case and sending him to jail as police slapped charges of murder and violence over the death of six people in his ashram during the standoff that ended last night. Arrested on Wednesday night, Rampal was produced before a two-member bench of the high court which had set a deadline of Friday for his production in connection with a contempt case at 2 pm.

He was sent to judicial custody till November 28, the next date of hearing. Claiming success of the operation, Haryana Police booked Rampal on murder charge, formed an SIT, carried out 469 arrests that includes three persons from Nepal.

The 63-year-old Rampal, who had failed to appear on three earlier occasions citing "ill-health", was this morning taken for a medical test at a government hospital in Panchkula and all his health parameters were found to be stable.

During the morning hearing, the bench comprising Justices M Jeyapaul and Darshan cancelled his bail in connection with a case of murder registered in 2006 after a clash at his Ashram at Kainthola in Rohtak district where one person had died and some others were injured.

A day after the operation to flush him out from his 12-acre ashram in Barwala in Hisar district of Haryana, DGP SN Vashisht told a press conference here that two new cases have been registered against Rampal in connection with the death of five women and an infant in his ashram and the violence on Tuesday.

The post-mortem report revealed internal injuries but the exact cause of death will come out only forensic and chemical examination. The ashram has now been completely cleared of Rampal's supporters and special police teams were conducting intense searches in the premises from where private army of the godman used firearms and petrol bombs against the police. A total of 105 policemen were injured in the violence. Two received bullet injuries, one of whom is in serious condition, having received gun shot in the neck. Seven other policemen received splinter injuries.

469 people, including a close aide of Rampal and his daughter, have been arrested, Vashisht said while commending the extreme restraint shown by his force even in the face of grave provocation when they were fired at from the ashram. The whole effort was to avoid innocent casualties, he said.

To a question at the press conference, Vashisht said if during the course of investigations any Maoist link to Rampal is found, it will be thoroughly probed.

"So far 469 people have been arrested while more people are being questioned. Out of the total arrests made, 118 belong to Rajasthan, 116 from Haryana, 72 from Madhya Pradesh, 10 from Bihar, 83 from UP and three from Nepal. We have also arrested Rampal's key aide Baljeet." Baljeet's daughter Babita too has been arrested and from her one laptop, six mobile phones, ten hard disks, seventeen CDs, three telephone diaries and five files have been recovered.

Meanwhile, the court directed the Haryana chief secretary to submit a report regarding properties owned by godman Rampal, he said. The division bench asked the amicus curiae to address it as regards to proper place where the trial of murder case against Rampal and others could be conducted.

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