Asaram gets life in jail for rape
COME UPPANCE Two other accused get 20year terms, two acquitted; victim’s family happy to have got justice JODHPUR:
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 Shard Chandra, and sentenced them to 20 years in jail. Two other accused, Prakash and Shiva Ram Hethvadiya, were acquitted.
The court also slapped fine on the three convicted people. Asaram was slapped a fine of ₹1 lakh each against three charges, and ₹1,000 each under two sections. Shilpi and Sharatchandra were fined ₹50,000 each.
Asaram, 79, who runs ashrams and has 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 Rajasthan 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 victim said in Shahjehanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
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.
In view of the verdict on Wednesday, Shahjahanpur district administration issued prohibitory orders and deployed additional force at the victim’s residence.
Superintendent of police (SP), Shahjahanpur, KB Singh said: “Four police teams, along with a unit of provincial armed constabulary (PAC), have been deployed at the rape victim’s residence to ensure security.”
“All five including Asaram looked worried. When the judgment came, Shilpi broke down. It appeared as if Asaram expected his conviction,” said Rajendra Singh Charan, one of the lawyers for the accused. THE CASE: The teenager said in her complaint that Asaram called her to his ashram in Jodhpur and raped her on August 15, 2013. The parents of the 16-year-old, who belonged to Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur, alleged her hostel warden said Asaram would cure her after she fainted. The girl was studying at Asaram’s ashram in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh ONGOING TRIAL: Asaram is also facing a rape case in Surat in Gujarat. Two sisters have accused Asaram and his son Narayan Sai of raping them over years
HIS EMPIRE: Asaram, who started from a hut on the banks of the Sabarmati, created a Rs 10,000-crore empire with 400 ashrams in India and other parts of the world in four decades. He has two children — his son has been arrested in a rape case also involving Asaram and his daughter runs the ashrams
NO BAIL: Asaram has unsuccessfully moved 12 bail applications over the years. Six of them were rejected by the trial court, three by the Rajasthan high court and three by the apex court