Almost five years after Asaram Bapu, the self styled godman, was accused of raping a minor a Jodhpur Court is set to pronounce its verdict on April 25. The judgement will be pronounced in the Jodhpur Central Jail, fearing possible communal violence similar to that in Panchkula following the conviction of controversial godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
Three states- Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Haryana -have been put on high security
ALSO READ: Rajasthan HC security upped ahead of Asaram rape case verdict
What is the accusation?
There are two separate probes against Asaram – one from Rajasthan and the other from Gujarat. Today’s verdict is on the Rajasthan case.
Rajasthan case: A teenage girl from Shahajahanpur of Uttar Pradesh had accused Asaram of raping her at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur on the night of August 15, 2013. She was studying at his ashram at Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh.
Gujarat case: In another case which is being probed, two Surat-based sisters lodged separate complaints against the godman and his son Narayan Sai, accusing them of rape.
Developments till date
- Asaram was taken into police custody in August 2013, and then to Jodhpur Central jail. A month later, a potency test was conducted on him and was produced before a Jodhpur court.
- The godman has filed a number of bail petitions, a total of 12 applications were rejected by the trial court, the Rajasthan High Court, and the Supreme Court.
- In November 2013, the chargesheet filed against Asaram and four others – Shiva, Shilpi, Sharad and Prakash- had indicated blackmail in exchange of sexual favours, after which the former was booked under Sections 342, 376, 506 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
- Over the years a number of the key witnesses in the case were attacked or went missing. In 2014, Asaram’s personal aide was shot dead, while another associate was killed in 2015 in Muzaffarnagar. Two more witnesses were attacked by unidentified individuals, while another witness went missing from Lucknow.