At least six people have died in a standoff between Indian police and a religious leader who is believed to be holed up inside his sprawling ashram along with thousands of devotees.
The guru, 63-year-old Rampal Maharaj, is wanted for questioning in a 2006 murder case, but has repeatedly ignored orders to appear in court.
Riot police tried to storm the ashram on Tuesday, but Rampal’s followers, some of them using guns, rocks and batons, fought them off, authorities said. About 200 people were injured, including security forces.
On Wednesday, the guru’s followers handed over to police the bodies of four women who apparently died inside the 12-acre complex. Earlier in the day, a woman and an 18-month-old child died in a hospital after leaving the ashram.
The circumstances of the deaths were not clear. Autopsies were being conducted and police were investigating.
Gurus and Hindu holy men are immensely popular in India, with millions of followers. People often consult gurus before taking important personal decisions. But the enormous power they wield has led to several scandals over accusations of exploiting devotees.
Shriniwas Vashisht, Haryana police’s director general, said many of the thousands of people holed up with Rampal are being held against their will or are being used as human shields to prevent police action.
“They know that we will not allow innocent women and children to be caught in the crossfire and they are taking advantage of that,” Vashisht said.
Authorities have tried to flush out Rampal by cutting off electricity and water to the compound. Thousands of people began streaming out of the ashram on Wednesday, with many saying armed followers of the guru had prevented them from leaving earlier.
“They closed and locked the gates inside the compound and would not let us out,” said Birender Satya, who had travelled from central India with his mother to listen to Rampal’s preaching.
It was not immediately clear whether people were still being prevented from leaving. Police estimated that 5,000 people could still be inside the ashram.
“Our operations will end only when we have arrested Rampal. We have suspended the operations to let people come out voluntarily,” Vashisht said.
Rampal and 38 others have been charged with murder and other offences after a violent clash between his supporters and another group left one person dead in July 2006. Rampal was freed on bail, which was cancelled after his followers entered a courtroom and threatened lawyers.
Since 2010, Rampal, a former engineer, has ignored 43 court summonses, seeking exemptions each time. The court set a final deadline for him to appear in court on Monday, which he also ignored.
Rampal’s supporters say he is too ill to make the 155-mile journey from his ashram in Haryana’s Hisar district to the court in the state capital, Chandigarh.
