Self-styled godman Rampal Singh and 14 others were sentenced to life imprisonment and fined ₹2.05 lakh each in a case pertaining to the murder of four women during a stand-off between the police and his supporters at Hisar four years ago. All the 15 were held guilty by the local court on October 11.
Additional District and Sessions Judge D.R. Chalia sentenced Rampal and 14 others to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh each separately for murder and criminal conspiracy. They were also sentenced to two years in jail for wrongful confinement and fined ₹5,000 each. All the three jail terms would run concurrently. The case pertained to FIR no. 429.
Rampal and 13 other accused were held guilty by the court in Hisar on October 11 in a case pertaining to the murder of a woman and an infant during the stand-off. FIR no. 430 was registered in this connection.
Both the cases were registered after Rampal was arrested on November 19, 2014 following several days of face-off between the police and his supporters. The police team had gone to Rampal's Satlok Ashram to arrest him and produce him before the Punjab and Haryana High Court in connection with another murder case when his supporters offered stiff resistance and did not allow the force inside for several days. Four women were found murdered in the ashram after the stand-off ended and a woman and the infant later died in hospital.
The court has fixed October 17 for quantum of punishment in the second case of murder.
Security was stepped up in Hisar and adjoining towns in the run-up to the pronouncement of quantum of sentence fearing a backlash from Rampal supporters.
