Controversial Guru Rampal Arrested from His Ashram in Hisar

Police stormed Rampal's chamber and took him away in an ambulance. His supporters tried to resist and allegedly threw acid pouches at the police. The self-proclaimed 'godman' was then taken to a hospital in Panchkula for a medical check-up.

Later, Rampal will be taken to Chandigarh and will be reportedly kept at an undisclosed location due to security reasons. He is likely to be produced before a bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday.

Five of Rampal's alleged supporters were detained after they tried to flee the ashram by scaling its wall.

2000-3000 people are still believed to be inside the ashram, including several injured women and children, and they are allegedly being prevented from leaving by supporters of Rampal. Ambulances and paramedics have been kept on standby.

There were reportedly no casualties during the final operation to arrest Rampal; personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force or CRPF were specifically deployed around the ashram earlier to prevent him from escaping.

The self-styled Godman had been hiding in the ashram for nearly two weeks using women and children as shields. Devotees who call themselves 'Baba's Commandos' were armed with guns, acid pouches and petrol bombs, the police said.

Four women died at the ashram; one woman and one 18-month-old baby, who were staying at the ashram, died in the hospital later.

The High Court had ordered Rampal's arrest by Friday after he repeatedly ignored their summons to appear for questioning in a 2006 case involving the killing of a villager by his supporters.

Thousands of policemen and paramilitary personnel were positioned in a three-ring cordon around the ashram - said to be a maze of corridors and false walls - but the administration had stopped short of launching a full scale assault.

Rampal has skipped court hearings 43 times in four years. He has spent two years in jail on charges of murder and was out on bail.