77-yar-old self-styled godman Asaram Bapu convicted of raping minor girl

Agencies
April 25, 2018

Jaipur, Apr 25: A trial court in Jodhpur on Wednesday held self-styled godman Asaram Bapu guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl in August 2013.

The verdict was delivered by Special Judge Madhusudhan Sharma in a makeshift court at the Jodhpur Central Jail as per the orders of the Rajasthan High Court.

Asaram was charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso), Juvenile Justice Act, Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Two of the four other accused, Prakash and Shiva alias Sava Ram, have been acquitted, while Sanchita alias Shilpi and Sharad Chandra alias Sharat Chandra have been convicted. However, the court is yet to set a date for deciding on the quantum of sentence for Asaram.

The "godman" can face a minimum sentence of 10 years in jail and a maximum of life imprisonment under the stringent sections of Pocso. Asaram has been found guilty of sexual assault, criminal conspiracy, criminal intimidation and illegal confinement of a minor

Section 144 has been imposed in Jodhpur till April 30, preventing assembly of more than four people at a time. Security has been heightened across the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana where Asaram has a huge following.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs had asked the three states to deploy additional forces in sensitive areas and ensure law and order is maintained following the verdict.

Following the verdict, the victim's father told the media, "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".

Asaram, 77,  was accused of raping a minor girl at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur. The girl is from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh and was a student living in the ashram close to Jodhpur. Asaram was arrested on August 31, 2013, and since then he has been housed in Jodhpur Central Jail.

According to the charge sheet, the cook and warden of the ashram in Chhindwara, where the girl was studying, claimed she was possessed by evil spirits and had to be exorcised.

The girl's parents, who were long-time devotees of Asaram, took their daughter to the Jodhpur ashram, where Asaram sexually assaulted her.

Nine witnesses have been attacked over the last five years since the trial began against Asaram.

But there is more trouble in the offing for Asaram as two girls have lodged a complaint against him and his son Narayan Sai in Surat, accusing them of rape and illegal confinement.

Comments

Well Wisher
 - 
Wednesday, 25 Apr 2018

Worship the creator, not his creation.

Bloody shame. Hang him publicly

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 13,2020

Bhopal, Mar 13: The Madhya Pradesh Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Thursday decided to verify facts afresh in a complaint against former Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and his family, in which they are accused of falsifying a property document while selling land.

The development came after Mr Scindia quit the Congress and joined the BJP on Wednesday. 22 MLAs who belong to his camp also resigned, threatening the survival of the Kamal Nath government in the state.

"Yes, an order has been given for re-verification of facts in the complaint filed by Surendra Shrivastava," an Economic Offences Wing official told PTI.

An EOW release said Mr Shrivastava on Thursday filed a new complaint against Mr Scindia and his family, alleging that by falsifying a registry document, they sold him a piece of land at Mahalgaon which was smaller by 6,000 sq feet than the original agreement in 2009.

He had lodged the complaint first on March 26, 2014. But it was investigated and closed in 2018, the EOW official said. "As he again petitioned us today, we will re-verify the facts," the officer said.

Jyotiraditya Scindia's close aide Pankaj Chaturvedi alleged that it was political vendetta.

"The case had been closed for want of evidence. Now for vengeance, it is being reopened. We have full faith in the Constitution and law. We will get justice and Kamal Nath government a befitting reply," Mr Chaturvedi said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 7,2020

New Delhi, Jul 7: Diesel price in the national capital on Tuesday touched an all-time high following a rate hike after a week-long hiatus.

Diesel price on Tuesday was increased by 25 paise per litre, according to a price notification of state-owned oil marketing companies.

This took the retail selling price of diesel to Rs 80.78 per litre in the national capital - the highest ever.

There was no change in petrol price for the 8th straight day, and it continues to be priced at Rs 80.43 per litre.

Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.

Petrol and diesel price were last revised on June 29.

In the last one month, diesel price has been increased on 23 occasions while petrol rates have risen 21 times.

The cumulative increase since the oil companies started the cycle on June 7, totals to Rs 9.17 for petrol and Rs 11.39 in diesel.

In Mumbai, petrol is priced at Rs 87.19 - unchanged since June 29, while diesel was hiked to Rs 79.05 a litre from Rs 78.83.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 21,2020

Nagpur, Feb 21: Former Maharashtra chief minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Friday condemned AIMIM leader Waris Pathan's reported remarks that 15 crore Muslims are more than a match for the country's 100 crore Hindus, and asked the latter not to mistake the majority community's tolerance for weakness.

Pathan has been widely condemned for reportedly stating that "15 crore hain lekin 100 crore pe bhari hain".

He purportedly made these comments while addressing an anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act rally in Kalaburagi in north Karnataka on February 16. The AIMIM leader has claimed he was quoted out of context.

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Fadnavis demanded an apology from Pathan and asked the Uddhav Thackeray government to take action.

"We condemn the statement made by Waris Pathan and demand an apology. In case he does not apologise, the state government must take action against him," he said.

Fadnavis said Pathan should understand that minorities were safe and enjoyed full freedom in India because 100 crore Hindus live in the country.

He said no one would dare utter such a statement in a Muslim-majority nation, adding that the "Hindu community is tolerant but its tolerance should not be mistaken for weakness".

"Pathan should apologise to the nation and the Hindu community," he said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.