Rampal’s ashram to sue Akhara body for his inclusion

Jailed ‘godman’ Rampal’s Satlok Ashram on Monday threatened to sue the Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad, apex body of Hindu sadhus, for including his name in the list of ‘farzi (fake) babas’.

Chand Singh Rathi, the media in-charge of Satlok Ashram, said they are giving 24-hour deadline to Akhara Parishad to remove Rampal’s name, failing which they will file a case in court.

The Parishad, while releasing a list of 14 ‘fake’ babas recently, had also demanded a crackdown on them.

The list included the names of rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim, Asaram, Radhe Maa and Rampal. “On what basis has the Akhara Parishad included our guru ji’s name in the list? All the allegations against him are untrue and he has not been convicted in any of them. He was, in fact, acquitted in two cases recently,” Rathi said.

He also invited Parishad president Swami Narender Giri for an open debate between with Rampal supporters on shastras (religious scriptures).

“Akhara Parishad is a political organisation, not spiritual. They fight and kill each other for the post of president. They have deteriorated sadhus’ name across the world,” he said.

Rampal is facing charges of murder and sedition, among others. He was acquitted in two cases recently by a Hisar court, but remains in jail due to many other criminal cases with serious charges. Rathi said Rampal should not be compared to Ram Rahim. “Ram Rahim has been convicted of rape. Our Guruji has never been accused of any such charges. We will not tolerate any false propaganda against him