NEW DELHI - A self-styled Indian religious leader was charged on Thursday with sedition and waging war against the state after a days-long siege of his sprawling compound ended in his arrest along with 450 hardcore followers.
Police evacuated more than 10,000 followers on Wednesday from the fortified compound of a bizarre cult headed by 'godman' Satguru Rampalji Maharaj before capturing him late in the evening.
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console.log("catid body is "+catID);if(catID==120){document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.js'; script.setAttribute('pubname','jpostcom'); script.setAttribute('widgetname','0011r00001lcD1i_12258'); document.getElementsByClassName('divAnyClip')[0].appendChild(script);}else if(catID!=69 && catID!=2){ document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none"; var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://static.vidazoo.com/basev/vwpt.js'; script.setAttribute('data-widget-id','60fd6becf6393400049e6535'); document.getElementsByClassName('divVidazoo')[0].appendChild(script); }Rampal, as the 63-year-old former engineer is known to his followers, was shown in TV news footage gripping the bars of a holding cell. He had been wanted for ignoring more than 40 court summonses in connection with a murder case.
"I am innocent," Rampal told reporters as he was brought out, handcuffed, from a court in the northwestern city of Chandigarh. "All allegations against me are false."
Police used tear gas, water cannon and bulldozers to storm Rampal's 12-acre (5-hectare) base on Wednesday, breaching resistance from a human chain of supporters outside, and men throwing stones and bottles filled with acid from its roof.
