Controversial guru Rampal is escorted to the high court after his arrest, in Chandigarh on November 20. (Reuters)
With Rampal Maharaj , 63, in a jail in Haryana and his ashram evacuated of thousands of devotees who fought for days to keep the police from entering the compound and arresting their guru, reporters finally have access to the 12-acre base of a man charged now with murder and sedition.
This was not the homestead of a man who appeared to subscribe to simplicity. He had a fleet of luxury cars, a swimming pool, flat-screen TVs, split air-conditioners, massage tables and gym equipment that included high-end treadmills.
The ashram, built in 2012-13, could house upto 50,000 people. More than 15,000 have emerged since Tuesday when the police first tried to enter the fortified hermitage with a warrant for Rampal who had ignored court summons more than 40 times.
Police entered the premises Thursday evening after obtaining search warrants from a magistrate.
Rampal, a former engineer who describes himself as an incarnation of the 15th-century mystic poet Kabir and has lakhs of followers, lived in a five-storey house in one part of the ashram complex with close aides, some of whom have also been arrested.
"The entire building had luxury fittings from granite tiles, marble flooring, fancy grills, strong doors, well-equipped bathrooms with modern fittings, split air-conditioners, flat-screen TVs and even massage beds. The personal rooms were big ones," a police officer inside Rampal's house told new agency IANS.
The junior engineer-turned-godman had a 25-metre personal pool for his personal use. It was empty because it had not been used in recent weeks on account of the arrival of winter.
Dedicated places were marked for charging mobile phones by hundreds of followers coming to the ashram.
A public address system was used to speak to thousands of devotees. There was a hospital with state-of-the-art equipment.
The ashram complex had a 20-feet wall all around for fortification. It was this wall that the security forces found hard to penetrate when they tried to enter the complex Tuesday.
Before being arrested Wednesday after a 10-day stand-off, Rampal ensured that most rooms and areas of his luxury home were sealed with plywood and had locks on the doors.