Jodhpur: The Rajasthan police say it has enough evidence to pin down spiritual leader Asaram Bapu, who has been accused of sexually assaulting the 16-year-old daughter of his disciples.
The teenager had accused the 72-year-old of forcing himself on her at his ashram in Jodhpur, and threatening to kill her and her parents if she reported him. Asaram Bapu dismissed the allegations as 'bakwas' (nonsense).
"Our teams went to his ashrams in Gurukul, Shahjahanpur, Ahmedabad and Indore. We investigated what the girl said. We have verified the charges and found some evidence," said Ajay Pal Lamba, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Jodhpur.
Asaram Bapu has been asked to travel to Jodhpur by Friday for police questioning.
Unfazed by the summons, the spiritual leader said he had "commitments in other cities" and will see whether he can fit in an appointment with the police. Critics have slammed the police for allowing him to travel across the country despite serious allegations against him.
The self-styled godman has a chain of ashrams in states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan and many in other countries - more than 400 in all, according to his official website, which also claims millions of followers.
It was at one of these ashrams that he allegedly assaulted the teen complainant. Her father told NDTV, "He told my daughter - be silent, my gunmen are outside and will kill your parents."
Asaram Bapu's son, Narayan Sai, however, says the teen is "mentally ill." He said Asaram did spend over an hour in a room alone with the teen, but committed no crime.
Asaram Bapu has described the teen as "pure and blameless," and has said that the fact that her parents are his disciples, makes her his grand-daughter..
There is evidence against Asaram Bapu in sexual assault case: police - NDTV.com
MUMBAI: The income tax department carried out a nationwide raid on 63 premises including ashrams run by Asaram Bapu. The raid, that began on September 9 and is still on, has been carried out in several cities including Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Surat. Officials claimed to have recovered documents showing tax evasion of at least Rs 400 crore. Most of the recovery showing evasion was recovered from his Pune premises.
"At least Rs 300 crore was earned through interest income. He used to lend money and charged an interest of 20%," an official said. At least two SUVs had to be brought in to transport the documents in Pune, sources said.
I-T raid on Asaram properties reveal tax evasion of Rs 400cr - The Times of India
An audio clip in which self-styled godman and rape accused Asaram is purportedly heard offering bribe to a witness, who was killed later, has been handed over to police by the victim’s father.
The victim’s father said the alleged conversation was recorded eight months ago and he had got the tape from Kripal Singh, the slain key witness in the Jodhpur rape case, Superintendent of Police Shahjahanpur, Babloo Kumar said on Tuesday.
Mr. Singh, who was attacked in Shahjahanpur on July 10, died in a Bareilly hospital the next day. He was the ninth witness attacked and the third one to have died.
“The authenticity of the audio clip is being verified and if proved genuine, it will be used in investigations,” the SP said, adding that voice of 74-year-old Asaram will be matched with his voice recorded earlier.
According to the girl’s father, Asaram, in the purported clip, is heard telling the witness that he would get “50 per cent in advance and the rest after the job is done.” The conversation was allegedly facilitated by two of Asaram’s followers - Raghav and Sanjay - who are also key suspects in Mr. Kripal’s murder. Asaram allegedly spoke to Mr.Kripal and his followers from jail.
Asaram had allegedly sexually assaulted the 16-year-old victim at his ashram near Jodhpur in Rajasthan in 2013.
The girl’s father said Mr.Kripal had handed over the clip to him so that it could be used to prove that Asaram had access to a cell phone even inside jail.
Asked as to why he did not provide the clip to the police or the court earlier, the girl’s father said, “I did not know it could be used as evidence in the rape case. When the Bareilly Range DIG RKS Rathore visited my house after Mr. Kripal’s murder, I told him about this audio clip.
“The DIG asked me to immediately hand it over to the police as it could be an important evidence in the murder case,” he said.
The girl has demanded a CBI probe into the rape case against Asaram. “I want the Prime Minister to ensure justice to me by ordering a CBI probe into the 2013 (rape) incident,” the victim had said after Mr. Kripal was killed.
Mr. Kripal had recorded his statement in the rape case in the Jodhpur court two months ago. After his murder, his family members had accused Asaram’s men of killing him and demanded a thorough investigation.
Meanwhile, another important witness in the rape case Arvind Bajpai, who is principal of Saraswati Shishu Inter College, Shahjahanpur, has been provided with a gunner.
Mr. Bajpai had issued Transfer Certificate (TC) of the girl, who had alleged that she was raped by Asaram, on the basis of which she was considered minor, Mr. Rathore said, adding that the principal had appeared in court in December 2014 in the case.
Mr. Bajpai had received threats over phone before he appeared in the court in the case to give evidence.
Asaram has been in a jail in Jodhpur since September 2013.
Two months later, he, along with his son Narayan Sai, was booked for the alleged rape of two sisters at their ashram in Gujarat’s Surat.
In January 2015, Asaram’s cook was shot dead in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.
Rape victim’s father gives police audio clip against Asaram : The Hindu - Mobile edition
my mistake he is innocent...
Bareilly: A crucial witness in the rape case against the self-styled godman Asaram has been provided with police security, four days after one of the witnesses in the case was shot dead. Nine witnesses in the case have been attacked so far.
Arvind Bajpai, Principal of Sawaswati Shishu Inter College in Shahjahanpur will now be accompanied by a gunman, confirmed Deputy Inspector General RKS Rathore.
Mr Bajpai had issued Transfer Certificate (TC) of the girl, who had alleged that she was raped by Asaram, on the basis of which she was considered minor, Mr Rathore said, adding, the principal had appeared in the court in December 2014 in the case.
Mr Bajpai said that he had received threats over the phone before he appeared in the court in the case to provide evidence. He said that he had requested to Shahjahanpur Superintendent of Police to provide him with security at the time, but was denied.
But after Kripal Singh, another key witness in the case, was shot at on July 10 and succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Bareilly, he has been provided security.
Mr Singh in his statement in the case against Asaram, recorded about three months ago, had alleged that people connected to Asaram were threatening him for the last few days.
He was an employee of a transport firm, whose owner's daughter had lodged a case against the 74-year-old Asaram for sexually assaulting her at his ashram near Jodhpur in Rajasthan in 2013. Asaram has been in a jail in Jodhpur since September 2013.
Two months later, Asaram, along with his son Narayan Sai, was booked for the alleged rape of two sisters at their ashram in Gujarat's Surat.
Among the nine witnesses to have been attacked so far, three of them including Mr Singh, have died.
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Seven and counting: Yet another witness in Asaram Bapu rape case shot in UP, seriously injured