Asaram Bapu gets life imprisonment for raping former devotee at ashram
Gandhinagar (Gujarat), January 31: A Gandhinagar court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to self-styled godman Asaram Bapu in a 2013 rape case. He was convicted on Monday. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on self-styled godman.
Asaram Bapu was held guilty of raping and sodomising his former devotee, who accused him of rape a decade ago. This is the second conviction for Asaram. A Jodhpur court had held him guilty in 2018 of raping a minor girl in 2013 and had sentenced him to life imprisonment. Asaram Bapu is currently lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail.
Notably, his wife was not present in the court has she is currently hospitalised in Surat. The court took some time to deliver the verdict as his daughter could not reach in time. For all these years, Asaram Bapu has been attending the trial via a video link. On Tuesday too, he was present via video link.
Meanwhile, the court had earlier acquitted six other accused — Asaram's wife Laxmiben, their daughter, and four disciples , for want of evidence, the prosecution said. They were accused of aiding and abetting the crime.
- With inputs from agencies
