The self proclaimed godman Asaram Bapu was sentenced to life imprisonment. This comes after the Jodhpur Court found the apparent godman guilty of raping a 16 year old girl in 2013.
Asaram was arrested five years ago and held at the Jodhpur Jail awaiting a verdict. The Court decided to hold the hearing inside the Jodhpur prison. The Court feared bringing Asaram to the Court would cause protests on the streets.
To avoid unwanted unrest from Asaram’s many followers, the police raised a high alert in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana. Asaram has over 400 ashrams across the world with lakhs of followers.
The self styled godman is also accused of raping two sisters in Surat between 2002 and 2004. Asaram’s son Narayan Sai is also the main accused in this rape case. The Supreme Court sent out a notice which gave the Surat Court a five week deadline to complete the trial.
The rape victim’s father said, “We have got justice. I want to thank everyone who supported us in this fight. Now I hope he will get strict punishment. I also hope the witnesses who were murdered or kidnapped get justice.”
There were a total of 9 witnesses testifying against Asaram during the Jodhpur trial. The nine were attacked by Asaram’s followers and three of the witnesses died.
The young girl was raped by Asaram when she and her family visited the accused’s ashram. The apparent godman said he needed to cure the girl of evil spirits and asked the family to leave the room. Asaram then raped the 16 year old and threatened to kill her if she told her parents.
The case registered listed a total of four accused including Asaram. Two of the four have been found guilty and the other two were acquitted.
