His name became a top trending topic on social media on Friday, following a reportedly months-old declaration by a fortune-teller from the Indian state of Maharashtra that “Rampal” is the very person whose birth Nostradamus had predicted in 1555 A.D.
Although months have passed since the Maharashtrian fortune-teller had linked Nostradamus’s prediction with Rampal; his name mysteriously became the top trending topic on social media on 4 October.
On that day, his followers started posting on Twitter, claiming that: he is “Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj” who was born to form the greatest Hindu nation.
Rampal has been behind bars for the last two years. His official website claims Nostradamus had predicted his birth as far back as in 1555 A.D. His millions of followers claim he is an incarnation of the Indian Sufi Saint Kabir and the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak.
The self-styled godman was sentenced to life following the death of four women and a child who died near Rampal's hermitage in the Indian state of Haryana near Delhi in 2014, during three days of clashes between thousands of Rampal's supporters and paramilitary forces.
The clashes broke out when security forces came to his hermitage (Ashram) to arrest him for alleged involvement in two separate murder cases in previous years.
Many view Rampal as a hypocrite who betrayed the trust of millions of believers and profited at the expense of thousands of his followers across the northern Indian states of Haryana and Rajasthan.