Self-styled godman Rampal, 13 followers sentenced to life term in another case
Hisar (Har), Oct 17 : A Haryana court sentenced self-styled godman Rampal and his 13 followers to life imprisonment in a second case of murder Wednesday.
The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge in Hisar sentenced Rampal, 67, and his followers in the case registered at Barwala police station in the district on November 19, 2014. They had been charged with murder, wrongful confinement of people and criminal conspiracy.
A woman was found dead at Rampal's Ashram in Hisar district on November 19, 2014. Rampal was arrested the same day for murder and other charges were slapped on him.
On Tuesday, the court sentenced the engineer-turned self-styled godman and 14 of his followers to life imprisonment in connection with another case of murder.
On October 11, Rampal and some of his followers had been convicted in two separate cases of murder and other offences, including wrongful confinement of his victims at his Ashram in Hisar.
Additional Sessions Judge D R Chalia also slapped a fine of Rs 2.05 lakh on each of the convicts on Wednesday.
The court awarded life imprisonment and a fine of Rs one lakh each under Section 302 IPC, two years imprisonment under Section 343 IPC and fine of Rs 5,000 each, and life imprisonment under Section 120 B and fine of Rs one lakh each. All sentences will run concurrently.
The court yesterday pronounced the quantum of punishment in the first case involving the death of four women and a child at the Hisar ashram on November 18, 2014.
A P Singh, advocate who represented Rampal and others, said they will challenge the sessions court decision before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The verdict was pronounced, after nearly a four-year trial, in a makeshift court inside the central jail in Hisar, where Rampal and his followers have been lodged since their arrest in November 2014.
The two cases against Rampal and his followers were filed at Barwala police station on November 19, 2014.
Besides the murder charges, the Barwala police had also invoked the offence of wrongful confinement, among others, in the two FIRs.
In November 2014, as the police proceeded to arrest Rampal holed up inside his ashram, his followers and devotees, numbering more than 15,000, surrounded the sprawling 12-acre hermitage to prevent the godman's arrest.
Six persons five women and an infant were killed in the ensuing violence.
Ahead of the pronouncement of the sentence, the Hisar district administration had made elaborate security arrangements. Section 144 of the CrPC, prohibiting gathering of more than four persons, has been imposed by the district magistrate, effective till October 17.
Before becoming a self-styled godman, Rampal worked as a junior engineer in a Haryana government department for 15 years before quitting in May 1995.
He later set up an Ashram in Barwala area in Hisar district and another one in Rohtak district and gradually gained popularity as a spiritual leader.
He took to full-time preaching, touring the villages and the cities across Haryana.
In 2006, he ran into controversy and invited the ire of Arya Samaj followers in Rohtak region because of his alleged unwelcome comments on Swami Dayanand Maharishi.
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Sensex, Nifty surge nearly 2 pc as US suspends additional 26 pc tariffs on India till July 9
Mumbai (PTI): Benchmark Sensex surged by 1,310 points while Nifty closed above 22,900 level on Friday on gains in banking, oil and metal shares as investors rejoiced the 90-day suspension of additional import duties by the US.
Defying a bearish trend in world markets, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 1,310.11 points or 1.77 per cent to settle at 75,157.26. During the day, it soared 1,620.18 points or 2.19 per cent to 75,467.33.
The NSE Nifty surged 429.40 points or 1.92 per cent to 22,828.55. In intra-day trade, the benchmark rallied 524.75 points or 2.34 per cent to 22,923.90.
The US announced suspension of additional tariffs on India for 90 days until July 9 this year, according to the White House executive orders. On April 2, US President Donald Trump slapped universal duties on about 60 countries exporting goods to America and additional steep levies on countries like India, potentially impacting sales of products from shrimp to steel in the world's biggest economy.
Tata Steel was the lead gainer among Sensex shares, rising by 4.91 per cent after the company announced a transformation plan, including job cuts, for its Netherlands steel plant to improve efficiency and margins.
HDFC Bank rose by 2.33 per cent, emerging as the biggest contributor to the Sensex's rise. Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC and Adani Ports were among the gainers.
IT behemoth TCS dropped 0.43 per cent after the company reported a 1.7 per cent decline in the March quarter net profit due to lower margins. Asian Paints declined 0.76 per cent.
"An unexpected pause on reciprocal tariffs by the US provided relief in the midst of the uncertainty. Though the IT major’s (TCS) result missed the street estimates, it opines optimism in the latter half of FY26 owing to growth in the order book," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 3.04 per cent and midcap index rallied 1.84 per cent.
All BSE sectoral indices ended higher. Commodities surged the most by 3.40 per cent, followed by consumer durables (2.92 per cent), utilities (2.76 per cent), power (2.64 per cent), energy (2.51 per cent), industrials (2.34 per cent) and consumer discretionary (2.25 per cent).
As many as 3,115 stocks advanced while 846 declined and 118 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Equity markets would remain closed on Monday for Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti.
World markets largely slumped amid growing concerns due to a tit-for-tat tariff war between China and the US.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index and South Korea's Kospi settled lower while Shanghai SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended higher. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index dropped nearly 3 per cent. European markets were trading lower.
US markets ended significantly lower on Thursday a day after a sharp rally. The Nasdaq composite tanked 4.31 per cent, S&P 500 slumped 3.46 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.50 per cent.
China on Friday raised its additional tariffs on imports from the US to 125 per cent in retaliation to the Trump administration's 145 per cent levies on Chinese exports.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,358.02 crore on Wednesday.
Indian stock markets were closed on Thursday for Shri Mahavir Jayanti.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.32 per cent to USD 63.53 a barrel.
On Wednesday, the BSE benchmark dropped 379.93 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 73,847.15. The Nifty declined 136.70 points or 0.61 per cent to 22,399.15.
