Guru Arrested with paramilitary force of 500 troops after Standoff With Police.

A portrait of Baba Rampal Maharaj on a wall near the entrance of his ashram.

A self-styled “godman,” or guru, was arrested late Wednesday after a tense weeklong standoff with the police, who had attempted to storm the heavily fortified compound where he was blockaded with an estimated 15,000 followers.

Baba Rampal Maharaj, 63, who once worked as a junior engineer in the irrigation department for the northern state of Haryana, considers himself the reincarnation of Kabir, a 15th-century mystic poet.

The police in Haryana sought to arrest him on charges of conspiracy to murder, incitement of violence and contempt of court in connection with a confrontation in 2006 between his disciples and adherents of another sect. According to local news media reports, Mr. Rampal was arrested in his chamber and was expected to appear in court on Thursday 20th November 2016. Before the arrest, the authorities charged him with treason and dispatched an additional paramilitary force of 500 troops from New Delhi.