Today Gandhinagar Sessions Court sentenced self-styled godman Asaram Bapu to life in prison in connection with a rape case from 2013. Surat based woman accused Asaram of raping her repeatedly while she was staying at his ashram in Ahmedabad’s Motera around ten years back.
Asaram Bapu has been convicted and imprisoned in two separate sexual assault cases. The self-styled godman is already in Jodhpur jail after a Rajasthan court convicted him in a separate sexual assault case in 2018.
Asaram Bapu gets life imprisonment in a rape case. Asaram moved High Court challenging the verdict by lower court. Between 1997 and 2006, the elder sister lived at Asaram’s Ahmedabad ashram and accused him of sexual assaults.
Between 2002 and 2005, the younger sister lived at Asaram’s ashram in Surat’s Jahangirpura neighbourhood and accused Narayan Sai of sexual assault.
The woman who filed the case against Asaram claimed she was raped and held captive in his ashram for several years by the self-styled godman. The case was initially booked in 2013.
68 people gave statements during the course of the investigation. Divya Ravia, the case’s investigating officer, had also received several death threats during the investigation.
As per the FIR (First Information Report) filed on October 6, 2013, at Chandkheda police station in Ahmedabad against Asaram Bapu and six others, the self-styled godman raped the woman disciple of Surat, on several occasions between 2001 and 2006 while she was living at his ashram in Motera near Ahmedabad before she managed to flee.
The 81-years-old godman is currently incarcerated in a Jodhpur jail on a life sentence.
