Gujarat court sentences godman Asaram Bapu with life imprisonment in 2013 sexual assault case
Asaram Bapu is currently serving a life sentence in a Jodhpur case in another case of raping a minor girl at his ashram in Rajasthan in 2013.
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Gandhinagar, Jan 31: A court in Gujarat's Gandhinagar on Tuesday (Jan 31) sentenced self-styled godman Asaram to life imprisonment in connection with a 2013 sexual assault case. Asaram is sentenced to life imprisonment under Sections 376 & 377 in a sexual assault case. Court ordered Rs 50,000 ex-gratia to the victim, Public Prosecutor RC Kodekar said.
The 81-year-old is currently serving a life sentence in a Jodhpur case in another case of raping a minor girl at his ashram in Rajasthan in 2013. In the 2013 case, a girl from Surat accused Asaram of rape. Statements from 68 people were taken in the case. There was a total of seven accused, including Asaram. Earlier there were a total of eight accused but one of them became a government witness.
Asaram was presented virtually for the hearing. He is currently lodged in Jodhpur jail and has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Jodhpur court. In the 2013 case, Asaram was accused of rape by a Surat girl, while Narayan Sai was accused of rape by her younger sister. Narayan Sai has been sentenced to life imprisonment whereas today the verdict came on Asaram, in which, he was found guilty.
In this case, apart from Asaram, his wife Lakshmi, daughter Bharati and four female followers Dhruvben, Nirmala, Jassi, and Meera were accused. All of these were acquitted. The police have said that in this case, they had received strong evidence against Asaram.