Six dead after police storm India guru's ashram

Police discovers five bodies on Wednesday after storming the ashram of a wanted guru in northern India

BARWALA: Police discovered five bodies on Wednesday after storming the ashram of a wanted guru in northern India and another of the man's followers died in hospital, an officer said.

Director general of police SN Vashisht said bodies of four women and an 18-month-old child were found at the sprawling compound but it was unclear how they died, while the child appeared to have died of natural causes.

Another woman apparently suffering from a heart condition also died after being taken to hospital, Vashisht told reporters.

"All dead bodies have been sent to the hospital where they will undergo a postmortem to ascertain the exact cause of their deaths," he said.

Police stepped up their search Wednesday and arrested the 63-year-old guru, Rampal Maharaj.

Police on Tuesday stormed the ashram, which has been guarded by hundreds of followers for days after a court ordered their leader arrested on murder and other charges.

Police fired water canon and tear gas and baton-charged the supporters who were armed with stones, petrol bombs and other weapons, television footage showed.

Overnight Tuesday, followers poured out of the ashram with some of them saying they had been held inside against their will.

"What started as a trickle hasn't yet stopped and we have dropped off around 10,000 people at nearby bus and train stations," assistant police superintendent Jashandeep Singh said of the followers.

Police said they were checking those leaving the ashram in case Rampal, who considers himself an incarnation of the 15th-century mystic poet Kabir, was hiding in the crowd.

"The people who left the ashram mostly said that they were being held against their will, as a shield for the guru against any police action," Singh told AFP from outside the ashram in Barwala town.

Police were seeking Rampal's arrest since he repeatedly refused court orders to appear to answer charges including conspiracy to murder, inciting mobs and contempt of court.

They accuse him of ordering his disciples to fire on villagers during clashes in 2006 in which one person was killed and scores injured -- charges Rampal's website says are "false".

Rampal claims his hundreds of thousands of followers across India have had chronic illnesses cured and "ruined families have again become prosperous" by devoting themselves to his teachings.

Disciples must give up alcohol, smoking, meat, eggs, adultery and gambling, while singing and dancing is banned along with worship of "any other god or goddess".

Born in a village in Haryana state to a family of farmers, Rampal obtained a diploma in engineering and later worked at the state's government's irrigation department.

Rampal went door to door proselytising on behalf of a seer called Ramdevanand and, with an ever growing flock of disciples, opened his ashram in 1999.

India has been rocked by several scandals involving immensely popular "godmen", mostly Hindu ascetics who claim to possess mystical powers. Last year one was charged with sexually assaulting a schoolgirl.

For many Indians, gurus play an integral role in daily life. They say they offer a pathway to enlightenment in return for spiritual devotion and often give donations to ashrams, temples and charity projects.