A court in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on Monday convicted self-proclaimed godman Asaram Bapu for raping a female disciple. Gandhinagar Sessions Court Judge DK Soni put off his order on the quantum of sentence for today.
Simultaneously, the court acquitted six other accused, including Asaram’s wife, for want of evidence. Going by the details of the First Information Report registered at the Chandkheda Police Station in Ahmedabad in 2013, Asaram raped the woman on several occasions from 2001 to 2006 when she was living in his ashram on the outskirts of the city.
Asaram’s lawyer: Session Court’s order will be challenged in the Gujarat High Court
“The court has accepted the prosecution case and convicted Asaram under Sections 376 2(C) (rape), 377 (unnatural offences) and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code for illegal detention, among others,” Special Public Prosecutor RC Kodekar told reporters on Monday. Asaram’s lawyer said the Session Court’s order will be challenged in the Gujarat High Court.
Notably, the victim’s younger sister was raped and illegally confined by Asaram’s son Narayan Sai. Sai was sentenced to life imprisonment by a sessions court in Surat in April 2019 in the rape case filed against him by his former disciple in 2013.
What is Asaram Bapu Case?
Asaram Bapu was arrested in 2013 after being accused by a Surat-based woman of repeatedly raping her between 2001 and 2006, while she was at his ashram in Ahmedabad's Motera around 10 years ago.
The so-called spiritual leader was booked under sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 354A (sexual harassment), 370(4) (trafficking), 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 120(B) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
