Kabir Jayanti: Rampal supporters throng Rohtak

Despite being in jail for the past four years, self-styled godman Rampal pulled a massive crowd in Rohtak to celebrate Kabir Jayanti, an annual event through which he flaunts his support base of devotees every year.

Defying heavy rains, the followers of Rampal, who consider him a reincarnation of Sant Kabir, coming from across Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in buses and private vehicles, thronged the city forcing the police to shut national highways at several points to divert traffic.

The organisers pitched tents at Pashu Mela ground on Gohana road in nearly 25-acre land, where they played pre-recorded message of Rampal on large projectors installed at the venue for three hours.

They also solemnised weddings of 101 couples without any exchange of dowry and held a blood donation camp. A large bhandara was organised where sweets prepared in desi ghee were served to the supporters.

Meanwhile, the opposition to the event from a section of Arya Samajis put the police force on alert. Rampal’s supporters have had a history of violent clashes with the Arya Samajis in which several people have lost their lives in the past.

The Arya Samajis had forced Rampal supporters to shift base from Karontha village in Rohtak to Barwala in Hisar after a series of violent events between 2006 and 2013.

Thursday’s event got a boost after All India Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti members also reached in large numbers. They said they were returning the favour to Rampal supporters who had come to support them in all their agitations for reservation. The bonhomie had surprised everyone since Jats, mostly Arya Samajis, had never got along with Rampal supporters.