A Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Superintendent of Police, Hisar, entered the Satlok Ashram at Barwala in Hisar after obtaining a search warrant from a court, Haryana Director General of Police S.N. Vashisht said in Chandigarh on Thursday, a day after self-styled godman was nabbed from there following a long stand-off.
Mr. Vashisht said the team, comprising two Deputy Superintendents of Police, four inspectors, one SSO of forensic science, supporting staff and cyber unit, would submit its report within a day or two on the findings and recoveries at the ashram.
The police have so far arrested 459 people in this case. They include 118 of Rajasthan, 116 of Haryana, 72 of Madhya Pradesh, 10 of Bihar, 83 of Uttar Pradesh and three of Nepal. He said more people could be rounded up on the basis of evidence which is being gathered.
Among those arrested is Baljit, a close associate of Rampal, and the godman’s daughter Babita. The police has also recovered one laptop with charger, six mobile phones, 10 hard disks, 17 CDs, three telephone diaries, one ring timer, five files regarding trusts etc. from her possession. The hard disk and CDs would be scanned by a special team of police, he added.
Apart from this, the police has also arrested other accused in the case namely Ram Kanwar Dhaka, Ravinder Dhaka, Purshotam and Ramavtar. Mr Vashisht said two more cases have been registered in connection with the death of six women in the ashram. These women have been identified as Sarita, Rajni, Santosh, Malkiat Kaur, Adarsh and Rajbala. In the post-mortem, he said, no external injury was found. But the ribs of Santosh and Rajbala were found fractured.
The DGP said Rampal was brought to Panchkula from Barwala on Wednesday night and taken to the General Hospital in Sector 6, Panchkula, as he complained of ill health. After the doctors declared him medically fit, he was taken to police station, Sector 5, Panchkula, where he was kept in police custody.
Mr. Vashisht said Rampal has been produced in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and would again be produced there on November 28, with full details of expenditure incurred during his arrest operation. Till then, he will remain in judicial custody. He said Rampal has been taken back to Hisar for conducting investigations in the case.
'Ashram fully evacuated'
The police officer said the Satlok Ashram has been fully evacuated. The remaining 4000 people, including 1500 women, were taken out of the Ashram on Thursday and were put on buses for their journey back home.
On three minor children getting separated from their parents, Mr Vashisht said Inspector General Hisar Range has spoken to the Deputy Commissioner in this regard. He said under the Children’s Act till their parents were found, these children would remain under State protection.
In the operation, he said, 105 police personnel were injured. Of them, two had received gunshot wounds while seven sustained shrapnel injuries. He expressed satisfaction that not even a single gunshot was fired by the police which showed exemplary restraint.
Attack on media deplored
With several journalists being seriously injured in the brutal and unprovoked attack by the Haryana Police on media persons covering the operation at Satlok Ashram on Tuesday, Jawahar Yadav, Officer on Special Duty to Chief Minister, criticised the “inappropriate incident.”
Expressing concern, he said a committee would soon be constituted to investigate the whole matter.
At the press conference, a two-minute silence was observed as a mark of respect to Shivam Bhatt, a journalist of the Zee media group, who was killed on Thursday in a road mishap at Kultaran village near Kaithal while returning after covering the Barwala operation. The Chief Minister has also announced Rs. 5 lakh ex gratia for his next of kin.
