NEW DELHI (AP) – At least six people have died during a standoff between police and a religious leader who is believed to be holed up inside his sprawling ashram in northern India along with thousands of devotees, some of whom are armed, police said Wednesday.
The Hindu guru, 63-year-old Sant Rampal, is wanted for questioning in a 2006 murder case, but has repeatedly ignored orders to appear in court.
Riot police tried to storm the ashram in Haryana state on Tuesday, but Rampal’s followers, some of them using guns, rocks and batons, fought them off, authorities said. About 200 people were injured, including security forces.
On Wednesday, the guru’s followers handed over to police the bodies of four women who apparently died inside the 12-acre (5-hectare) complex, about 175 kilometers (110 miles) from New Delhi. Earlier in the day, a woman and an 18-month-old child died in a hospital after leaving the ashram.
The circumstances of the deaths were not clear. Autopsies were being conducted and police were investigating.