Godman Rampal says allegations against him are false

PANCHKULA: Arrested controversial ' godman' Rampal today rejected charges that he had asked thousands of his followers to be kept "hostage" for past several days inside his ashram at Barwala to evade police action in a contempt of court case.

"Yeah jhuthee ilzaam hein (these are false allegations)," 63-year-old godman told reporters after his medical examination was conducted at General Hospital here.

Asked about claims of his followers that they had been kept hostage by his private armed commandos and other henchmen, Rampal in his first reaction after his arrest, said, "No, this is not true...."

As journalists fired a volley of questions at him, Rampal kept walking towards a waiting police vehicle, jostling his way through the battery of mediapersons who surrounded him.

He will be later today produced before Punjab and Haryana High Court in a contempt case.

Earlier, the medical examination of Rampal, who was arrested from his Satlok Ashram in Hisar's Barwala town, was conducted at the Government General hospital at Panchkula, with a doctor describing his major helth parameters as "stable".