Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Jawahar Yadav, on Wednesday said the state government will not brook any insult to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and added that controversial godman Sant Rampal would and must be taken to task for the same.
"The state government, in order to carry out the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, took a decision due to which Sant Rampal, who was insulting the Constitution and the courts, would be taken to task and started the operation against him," Yadav told media here.
Yadav also expressed grief over the injury sustained by media personnel during the police operation at Rampal's ashram.
"During the operation, some members of the fourth pillar of democracy, that is, the media were injured and for that, the state government is deeply apologetic. We have also set up a committee to enquire as to how the incident took place. The press advisor to the chief minister, Amit Arya, is also meeting all the members of the press who were injured," he said.
Assuring that the godman will be punished, Yadav also questioned Rampal's piety.
"As far as the incident is concerned, the Manohar Lal Khattar Government will not allow any insult to the high court go unpunished. While storming the ashram, 105 police personnel have been injured, with nine sustaining bullet injuries. However, the police has not fired a single shot in retaliation as many innocents are still inside the compound," he said.
"Having said that, he calls himself a 'Sant' but we have recovered petrol bombs and bullets from his compound and he had a specially trained commando unit as guards," he added.
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On Tuesday, the Haryana Police, while attempting to storm the fortified ashram of Rampal, used tear gas shells, water cannons and batons to disperse his supporters, who allegedly fired back leaving
several people, including some media persons injured.
This incident took place after the Punjab and Haryana High Court had issued a fresh non-bailable warrant against Rampal for contempt of court. His supporters fortified his mission campus in Chandigarh,
demanding his release.
Sant Rampal faces contempt of court for skipping judicial proceedings before a Sessions Court in Haryana's Hisar district on November 5, citing medical reasons.
The godman has been charged with murder, attempt to murder and other charges under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 2006 after his followers attacked villagers.