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Arms, petrol bombs, chilli grenade found in Satlok Ashram

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Press Trust of India Chandigarh
A huge cache of arms and ammunition, petrol bombs, acid syringes and a chilli grenade were found inside the highly-fortified Satlok Ashram from where 'godman' Rampal was "smoked out".

The shocking details came to the fore today during a search conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Haryana Police, which also found a pregnancy test strip from a room adjacent to the one of Rampal in the Ashram.

The police also found a woman lying unconscious and locked in a bathroom. She was admitted to general hospital. She has been identified as Bijlesh, a resident of Ashok Nagar village in Madhya Pradesh.
 

As the search operation was on, police took into custody three persons hiding in the premises, from where the controversial 63-year-old engineer-turned-preacher was arrested on Wednesday in a murder case.

Giving this information here, a spokesman of the Police Department said the team had recovered three .32 bore revolvers, 19 air guns, two DBBL 12 bore, two .315 bore rifles, 28 cartridges of .32 bore, 50 cartridges of 12 bore and 25 cartridges of .315 bore.

Most of the weapons were kept in bags and almirahs in two secret rooms. In the centre of the Ashram, Rampal had an elevated structure on which he had his seat. The ammunition was stored under the structure so that no one could suspect the location.

A private swimming pool, state-of-the-art elevators and 24 AC rooms with one having a massage bed were found during the police operation to nab the "mouse" -- the code name used for Rampal.

The team also found helmets and sticks and 20 pairs of black dresses and two tanks containing 800 litres of diesel and catapult.

The three persons found hiding in the Ashram have been identified as Yaadram, resident of Jakhli, district Badaun, UP, Ravi, resident of Kharati, Chhattisgarh, and Ramesh, resident of Dhani Sillanwali, district Bhiwani in Haryana.

The Ashram, built like a fortress, is surrounded by high walls with watchtowers. A special room was set up within the Ashram for his securitymen comprising private commandos.

The sprawling complex was found to be under constant surveillance with CCTV cameras installed at several key-points to keep a tab on the movements of devotees, who largely came from low-income strata.

At the entrance of Ashram, spread over 12 acres adjacent to Chandigarh-Hissar national highway in Hissar district of Haryana, police found metal detectors to check the devotees.

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First Published: Nov 21 2014 | 9:46 PM IST

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