Asaram gets life until death
COME UPPANCE Two other accused get 20year terms, two acquitted; victim’s family happy to have got justice
A Jodhpur court on Wednesday convicted self-styled godman Asaram of raping a teenager in August 2013 and sentenced him to life in prison until death, the maximum punishment prescribed by the law for the offence. Judge Madhusudan Sharma also convicted two other accused, Shilpi and Sharatchandra, and sentenced them to 20 years in jail. Two other accused, Prakash and Shiva, alias Sawaram Hethwadia, were acquitted.
Asaram, 79, who runs ashrams and has millions of followers in India and overseas, was convicted in a closed jailhouse court in Jodhpur where hundreds of police stood guard on Wednesday. He was arrested in Indore and brought to Jodhpur on September 1, 2013, to face trial in the case in which he was accused of raping a girl who was then 16 at his ashram in a village near the Rajasthani city.
“I am happy to get justice. We had complete faith in the judiciary and are happy that we got justice,” the father of the survivor said in Shahjehanpur, Uttar Pradesh. “This case will set an example for the daughters of the country who are harassed at the hands of people like Asaram.”
For fear of Asaram’s supporters, his family has not come out of their home, which has been guarded round-the-clock by the police for the past four months, the father said.
The prosecution produced 44 witnesses and 160 documents to prove its case against Asaram, who was charged with offences including trafficking, wrongful confinement, sexual harassment and rape of a minor, under the Indian Penal Code, and Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
“We will study the judgment and file an appeal in the Rajasthan high court,” Asaram’s Counsel Sajjanraj Surana said.
The verdict was pronounced amid heavy security enforced in Jodhpur to prevent the kind of violence that followed the August 2017 conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case. At least 11 people died in Panchkula in violence that followed that order.
AHMEDABAD/JODHPUR: When judge Madhusudan Sharma on Wednesday sentenced Asaram to a life term in jail until death, the 79-year-old held his head, took off his red cap, got down on his knees and wept, lawyers present in the courtroom inside Jodhpur Central Jail said.
“He broke down on hearing the sentence,” said one of the lawyers on condition of anonymity.
Asaram was flanked by Prakash Dwivedi, his cook and personal assistant, and Shiva alias Sawarama Hethwadia, a sewadar (volunteer), both of whom were acquitted of involvement in the August 2013 crime of a teenager’s rape.
It was at about 9.10am when the cavalcade of 10-12 cars carrying the judge, the prosecution and defence lawyers, policemen, both senior officials as well as rank and file, entered the premises of the Jodhpur Central Jail. Proceedings in the case began a little later, around 9.30am. There were 30 people in the courtroom: the judge, one public prosecutor, five accused, 17 advocates and six court staff. The judgment in the rape case against Asaram and his four other associated was to be pronounced in the special court inside the jail, next to barrack number two, where Asaram has been lodged, and close to the barrack where Salman Khan spent two days earlier this month after he was found guilty of killing two black buck in Jodhpur in 1998.
The self-styled godman stood in the witness box along with his associates, 5-7 policemen flanking the accused. He was wearing his signature white robes and red headgear. Before the proceeding started, Asaram was smiling, chatting with other co-accused and also laughed loudly. People present in the courtroom said they didn’t know why he did so but once the proceedings started, he could be heard intermittently chanting ‘Hari Om’.
At about 10.40am, the court pronounced Asaram guilty. The court also found Shilpi, who has been identified by his first name in the charge-sheet, and Sharad Chandra guilty.
“All five including Asaram looked worried. When the judgment came, Shilpi, the warden of Asaram’s ashram in Chhindwara, broke down. It appeared as if Asaram expected his conviction,” said lawyer Rajendra Singh Charan. After the conviction, the court heard arguments over the punishment. “We said Asaram is a gunda (thug), he is a shaitan (devil), and he must be given the most stringent punishment,” said Charan.
“The defence lawyers put forth age- and health-related issues of Asaram and that he had done great social service in tribal areas. In addition, they said that Asaram had letters of praise from the chief ministers and the President,” he added.
While arguing before the court for the minimum sentence, Asaram’s counsel said Asaram is old, not in the best of health, and has done a lot of social work in tribal areas, said one of the lawyers for the victim. Arguments over the sentencing ended around 12.20 pm and the judge retired to his chamber to dictate the order. It was then Asaram asked for a glass of water and stood in the court with folded hands.
The judge returned to his seat around 2pm and after photocopies were distributed to lawyers of the convicts, he pronounced his sentence Asaram was sentenced to serve a life term in prison.
Two co-accused were sentenced to jail for 20 years each. Asaram then removed the headgear, scratched his head and started crying, said a lawyer who was present in the court. A dejected Asaram put his hand over the shoulder of Shiva and slowly walked out of the courtroom soon after the proceedings ended.
In the evening, the jail authorities allocated number 130 to Asaram, meaning he will be known as Qaidi (prisoner) No. 130.