6 died in ashram siege when police went to arrest this ‘godman’. 12 years on, he walks out of jail | Who is Sant Rampal?
Rampal, a self-styled preacher and the head of Satlok Ashram in Haryana’s Hisar district, walked out of jail this week after nearly 12 years in custody. Videos of his walk into his ashram have gone viral on Instagram since the Friday release, with followers, who call him Sant Rampal, seeing it as a “triumphant return”. By Saturday, April 11, he’d held his first discourse after return too. Rampal in his first discourse after return from jail. He referred to his incarceration as a “long struggle” from which he’d emerged triumphant. (Video grab: YT/@SatlokAshram) The 75-year-old’s release came after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail in a 2014 sedition and violence case, citing his advanced age, prolonged incarceration, and the slow pace of trial. Upon returning from jail, in his first ‘satsang’ or discourse, he spoke of his “fight against ignorance”, which he claimed he had won. After returning from what he called a “long struggle”, he said there was not greater enthusiasm among his followers. But his story as a ‘godman’-figure stretches …
