Asaram Bapu's close aide Niraj Kumar arrested after evading cops so far

Muzaffarnagar: A close aide of Asaram Bapu who was evading arrest in connection with the murder of a prime witness in a rape case against the self-styled godman has been arrested from Mirakpur village in Saharanpur district. Niraj Kumar, Asaram’s Nandgaon ashram in-charge, was arrested on Tuesday. He owned a dairy farming business in the village. A cache of arms, 17 cows and several fake IDs have been seized from the place he was nabbed, Circle Officer Yogender Pal Singh said. [caption id=“attachment_2674790” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Asaram Bapu. PTI[/caption] He was at large since the murder of Akhil Gupta (35), the prime witness in a rape case against Asaram, on 11 January last year, Singh said. Gupta was a cook and personal aide of Asaram, who has been in jail since August 2013, for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old schoolgirl. Kumar’s alleged involvement in the murder was revealed by Kartik Haldar, the henchman of the self-styled godman, who had allegedly gunned down Gupta. Haldar was arrested from Raipur in Chhattisgarh in March. During interrogation, Kumar said he had given shelter to Haldar, and arranged a motorcycle and weapons for him, Singh said. The accused has been booked on charges of cheating and misleading police, besides under Arms Act.