Asaram tests positive for Covid; seeks bail

JODHPUR: Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, who is serving life imprisonment in Jodhpur Central Jail in a minor girl’s rape case, has approached the Rajasthan High Court (HC) for treatment of several diseases including Covid-19.

The HC division bench of Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Devendra Kachhawaha has directed public prosecutor Anil Joshi to seek a medical report of the petitioner from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Jodhpur after hearing the plea.

Asaram was brought to the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital late on Wednesday night from Jodhpur Central Jail, where he tested positive for Covid-19. He was later referred to AIIMS due to an infection in his lungs, where he is currently undergoing treatment. During the hearing, on behalf of Asaram, counsel JS Chaudhary said that the petitioner had many diseases including heart. He pleaded for interim bail to Asaram, to which the bench summoned the medical report.