HC suspends death penalty of Rampal in 2014 violence case

The Punjab and Haryana high court has suspended the life sentence of self-styled godman Rampal in connection with the deaths of five women and a toddler during a police siege at his Hisar ashram in 2014.

- HT Correspondent

Rampal, the self-styled godman who heads the Satlok Ashram in Haryana, has been in prison since November 2014 in connection with the murder of five women and an 18-month-old baby. He was arrested on November 19, 2014 following several days of face-off between the police and his supporters outside the ashram in Hisar’s Barwala. Four women were found murdered in the ashram after the standoff ended and a woman and a toddler later died in hospital. The violence also left 110 police personnel and 70 civilians injured.

Rampal's counsel, senior advocate Vinod Ghai, said a total of five criminal cases were registered against him in the 2014 violence. In separate hearings on

Rampal