Self-styled godman Rampal acquitted in 2 criminal cases

NEW DELHI: A day after Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was sentenced to 20 years in jail for rape, a Haryana court found another self-styled godman, Rampal, not guilty in 2 criminal cases - of obstruction in the discharge of duty by government officials and of wrongful confinement. A judgment on the murder rap against Rampal is yet to be delivered.Rampal will remain in jail because of the other cases pending against him."It's a victory for truth," said Rampal's lawyer AP Singh.Rampal ran the Satlok Ashram in Barwala in Haryana. He was facing charges in cases relating to sedition, arson, rioting, attempt to murder, wrongful confinement and preventing government servants from performing their duty. The Hisar court was earlier scheduled to pronounce its verdict on August 24, but the police requested it be postponed because Haryana was on high alert ahead of the judgment in the Ram Rahim Singh case.The case against Rampal dates back to 2006. IANS reported that in July 2006, Rampal was forced to vacate his ashram in Karontha in Haryana's Rohtak district, following clashes with religious groups. In that clash, one person died from bullet wounds. The police charged Rampal with murder. His sect claimed that he was falsely implicated in the murder case.Rampal was arrested in 2014 after failing to appear in court as many as 43 times, reported Times Now. When he was arrested by the police in November 2014, his followers went on the rampage for two weeks; six lives were lost.