Bitter end to Jalebi Baba’s sleazy saga
CHANDIGARH/FATEHABAD: A vendor hawking jalebis and chole-kulche on a push cart in the bylanes of Tohana, a town in Haryana’s Fatehabad district, to a self-styled godman who assured relief to gullible women searching for solace, Baba Billu Ram, alias Amarpuri, 59, had a free run for more than a decade and a half, sexually assaulting several women before the law caught up with him.
On January 10, a fast-track court in Fatehabad sentenced Jalebi Baba, as he’s now known, to 14 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping two women followers and a minor girl. He was sentenced for making sexually explicit videos of his victims and circulating them. “It’s a case where a minor girl has been subjected to the lust of a man. It must have had a traumatic effect on the child. Her parents have a long way to go to forget the past,” wrote special judge Balwant Singh in the order.
On hearing the sentence, Jalebi Baba broke down in the courtroom.
How the abuse began
The crimes committed by Jalebi Baba bear a striking resemblance to the ones committed by several such selfstyled godmen, who win the trust of women followers only to exploit them.
Billu Ram was a nobody when he arrived in Haryana two decades ago. Police files show he migrated to Tohana from Madhya Pradesh but was originally a native of Mansa in Punjab. “He started working as a labourer in Tohana and moved on to selling jalebis on a rehri (pushcart). In 2002, he built a temple near the old Industrial Training Institute (ITI) and became its priest,” said a police official. He survived on offerings and donations. “He started conducting prayers and exorcism sessions. His financial condition was ordinary,” says the police document. Once he gained confidence of his devotees, the abuse started. “He would rape women, film the act and blackmail them by threatening to make the videos viral on social media,” the records say.
One of the women complainants recalls she visited Jalebi Baba in 2011 when her nine-month-old daughter was diagnosed with typhoid. “He conducted an exorcism session and
when my daughter got cured, we became his followers. In October 2017, he called my husband and asked him to bring me along. When we reached his 150 square yard ashram, which has four rooms including two in the basement, he asked my husband to leave. I was asked to wait in the basement and was offered tea. I fell unconscious after having the tea but after three hours when I regained consciousness, I realised something was wrong. My body ached. I told my husband and three days later, we got the FIR registered. Baba was arrested but granted bail,” she said.
How he was caught
A father of four daughters and two sons, Billu Ram lost his wife before he shifted to Tohana, where he met an occultist who introduced him to exorcism.
In 2017, the wife of one of his acquaintances accused him of raping her in the temple but he managed to get off the hook.
The public prosecutor told the court that the police came to know about his misdeeds on July 19, 2018, when an informer showed a sexually explicit video clip on the mobile phone to inspector Pradeep Kumar,
the Tohana city police station in-charge. The informer shared a CD that showed more women had been sexually assaulted.
On the inspector’s complaint, a case was registered under Sections 292, 293, 294, 376, 384, 509 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67A of the IT Act.
He was arrested and objectionable videos were recovered from him.
Fatehabad women police cell in-charge Bimla Devi, who has since retired from service, says one of the victims stated that the accused forced her into sexual intercourse when she went to get relief from evil spirits. “Another woman told me how the Baba used to mix opium in tea and offer it to women followers in the basement. We recorded the statements of six victims, including the minor. Some victims refused to cooperate due to family pressure and fear of social stigma,” Bimla Devi said.
Most women who visited the Baba saw him as a tantrik (occultist) who could exorcise ghosts and rid their families of trouble. “We recovered sedatives, opium and a video recorder from him. But it was not easy arresting him. His neighbours and followers jumped to his defence and accused the police of conspiracy,” she recalls.
Last month, a fast-track court in Fatehabad sentenced Billu Ram, alias Jalebi Baba, to 14 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping two women followers and a minor girl
Crime and punishment
A family member of the girl who deposed against the Baba said: “We are relieved that he has been punished though we think he deserved a stricter sentence. Our daughter is happily married now.”
Vijay Krishan Ranga, the advocate of a victim, said Jalebi Baba ran a successful street food business and lured his victims on the pretext of offering a remedy for their troubles using black magic.
Jalebi Baba’s lawyer Gajender Pandey said his client will challenge the trial court’s order in the Punjab and Haryana high court. “This case was registered on the basis of a CD. There was no application from any of the six so-called victims,” he said.
The special fast track court awarded Billu Ram seven years’ imprisonment under Section 376C of the IPC, 14 years under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and five years’ imprisonment under Section 67A of the IT Act. The jail terms will run concurrently.
The victims’ counsel alleged that before committing rape, Jalebi Baba used a revolver to threaten the women. In his order, judge Balwant Singh said: “It is not disputed that the accused is the licence-holder of the weapon. The only question is whether the weapon was used for committing the offence or not. No doubt, it is so alleged by the victims. However, this version of the victims cannot be believed.”
Advocate Sanjay Verma said though the Baba faced allegations of raping six women, the judge convicted him of raping three women, including a minor, on the basis of available evidence. “He was acquitted in the Arms Act case. He has been in jail for four-and-a-half years and will have to stay behind bars for another nine-and-a-half years,” Verma said.
Women, youth easy targets Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, sociology professor Kanwar Chauhan says such selfstyled godmen thrive because of lack of education. “Women and youngsters from rural areas go to them for solving marital, health and job issues but get exploited,” he says.
Sociology assistant professor Neeraj Singh says: “These godmen assure followers of quick relief. They take money from men and sexual favours from vulnerable women. Women facing marital discord are easy prey. Many people who get relief by sheer coincidence develop faith and there begins a vicious cycle.”