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The Haryana Police on Wednesday closed in on self-styled godman Rampal after it secured the exit of about 15,000 of his followers from the Satlok Ashram in Barwala, Hisar. The police have also arrested 450 people, including two of his close aides and about 350 of the ashram `commandoes’, for violence against the State.

However, the violence has also taken its toll. While the bodies of four women were handed over the police by the ashram authorities, another woman and an infant died due to medical reasons.

The police which had suspended the operation last evening to allow people to come out of the Ashram, waited patiently for a large part of the day for the followers of Rampal to emerge from the Ashram. By evening about 2,000 people were still present in the ashram.

Simultaneously efforts were also being made to secure the surrender of Rampal and his core team of supporters even as the police with the help of Central Reserve Police Force prepared for a final round of assault, which many fear could be a bloody one as many of the godman’s followers are armed with guns, revolvers and pistols.

Earlier in the day, Director General of Police S.N. Vashisht had said the operation to bring the fugitive godman to book would continue till he is arrested and produced before the High Court, which had issued non bailable warrants against him.

Mr. Vashisht said it was around 10 last night that the first batch of followers of the godman began coming out of the Ashram. About 2,000 men came out in the first round and expressed their desire to go home. They were taken to railway stations and bus stands in Hisar and Jind by Haryana Police and Haryana Roadways buses. Subsequently through the night about 8,000 more people, including women, children and elderly who were being captive in the ashram for over a week, came out.

Most of the followers were from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and had come to Barwala for a four-day satsang which had started on November 6. The DGP said he was in touch with Delhi Police and Uttar Pradesh officials to ensure that there was no regrouping of Rampal’s followers.

The police made those coming out walk in a single file and through a group of spotters as it wanted to screen these people for the presence of some of Rampal’s followers engaged in Tuesday’s violence. So far about 270 people have been detained, 20 of them for actively participating in the violence. By late in the day the police had also arrested the spokesperson for the Satlok Ashram Raj Kapoor, Rampal’s close associate Purshottam Das and about 350 “commandoes” or private security personnel of the Ashram.

Stating that the Haryana police was committed to saving the lives of the innocent people, Mr. Vashisht said he was hopeful that the remaining 5,000 people in the ashram would also come out by this evening. Those involved in the violence have been booked for sedition, criminal conspiracy, illegal detention and rioting among other charges.

Mr. Vashisht said the operation was suspended last evening to enable the innocent women and children to come out and he was glad that the strategy worked as they did not want any casualties among this section. “The interviews of these people to the media in Hisar show that they were being kept in the ashram by Rampal’s men against their wishes.”

A large number of people coming out of the ashram said they had been locked up and detained by the “sewadars” or volunteers in the ashram. Many had also got separated from their family members during the stay in the ashram or while coming out of it.

The DGP said the culprits, who precipitated the crisis, would have to face the full force of law.

He also mentioned how six of the ashram inmates had died. “We were handed over bodies of four women by the Ashram authorities this morning and they have been sent for post-mortem.” Their post-mortem later confirmed that none of them had sustained external injuries.

These women have been identified as Savita, 31, of Delhi; Santosh, 45, of Rohtak in Haryana; Malkeet Kaur, 50, of Sangrur in Punjab; and Rajbala of Bijnore.

Mr. Vashisht asserted that there has been no firing by the police so far and the police has also not entered the Ashram premises. He said depending on the investigation, cases would be registered into these deaths.

This apart, the DGP said, at about 4 a.m. a woman inmate of the ashram, Rajni of Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh was sent to a medical college at Agroha with a heart valve problem and later died there. Similarly, he said, a one-and-a-half year old child, Dhairya, of Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh, who had a condition of congenital jaundice, also died in the ashram.

Mr. Vashisht claimed that these two death appeared to be natural.

He said the operation at the 12-acre ashram would continue till Rampal’s arrest, who has now also been booked for sedition. He declared that no talks were possible with such a fugitive now and the only option available to Rampal was to surrender.

The DGP said the ashram inmates had not only used .315 bore guns and firearms but also acid bulbs and petrol bombs against the police. Besides, he said, the nearly 200 gas cylinders found stored in the ashram also posed a threat as firebombs were thrown at them to set them alight.

In another development, the Haryana Government said the general public of Barwala town and nearby villages tried to move towards the Ashram to express its resentment against Rampal and his activities. But the heavy deployment of force prevented a face-off. It said the Union Home Ministry has also provided two additional companies of CRPF to tackle the situation.