Asaram Bapu gets life imprisonment in minor girl rape case; two others convicted get 20 years imprisonment
Jodhpur, April 25: Asaram Bapu, a self-styled godman was awarded the life imprisonment by a Jodhpur Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Court on on Wednesday for raping a minor girl at his ashram in Manai village in Rajasthan.
Earlier in the day, the TADA court led by Judge Madhusudan Sharma has convicted Asaram Bapu and two others accused named Shilpi and Sharad in a rape case in the Central Jail of Jodhpur. After a long debate on the punishment, Jodhpur Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Court sentenced life imprisonment to Asaram Bapu while Shilpi and Sharad sentenced to 20 years each in jail.
Notably, Asaram and four others were charged with raping a 16-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh’s Shahajahanpur in 2013. The case against Asaram was registered under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
After the conviction, Father of Shahjahanpur victim while talking to media said, “Asaram is convicted, we have got justice. I want to thank everyone who supported us in this fight. Now I hope he will get strict punishment. I also hope the witnesses who were murdered or kidnapped get justice.” On the other side, Asaram’s spokesperson Neelam Dubey said, “We will discuss with our legal team and then decide our future course of action.” “We have confidence in our judiciary,” she added.
Ahead of the pronouncement of the verdict, security has been beefed up in three states, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Haryana. Furthermore, Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) will be imposed in Jodhpur till April 30. Meanwhile, the Jodhpur Court also dismissed a petition seeking entry of media persons in Central Jail of Jodhpur for the coverage of the judgement.
BACKGROUND:
Asaram's involvement was probed in two separate cases i.e one from Rajasthan and the other from Gujarat. After the accusation was made, Asaram was taken into police custody in August 2013, following which he was taken to Jodhpur Central jail.
A month later, a potency test was conducted on him and was produced before a Jodhpur court. While Asaram filed a total of 12 bail petitions but were rejected by the trial court, the Rajasthan High Court, and the Supreme Court as well.
In November the same year, the charge sheet was filed against Asaram and four others who were booked under Sections 342, 376, 506 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
After the charge sheet was filed, many key witnesses in the case were attacked or went missing. In the year 2014, Asaram's close associate was shot dead, while another was killed in Muzaffarnagar. In 2015, two more witnesses were attacked by unidentified individuals, while another witness went missing from Lucknow.