Rape case against Asaram Bapu: Hearing concludes, court reserves judgment for 25 April

Jodhpur: A special SC/ST court on Saturday reserved its order for 25 April in a 2012 rape case against self-styled godman Asaram after the final arguments were completed. Judge Madhu Sudan Sharma heard the final arguments from the prosecution and defence counsels for five months. The final arguments were completed on Saturday, victim’s counsel PC Solanki said. The court reserved the order for 25 April, he said. A teenage girl had accused Asaram of sexual assault at his ashram in Manai village. The girl, who belonged to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was a student living in the ashram. [caption id=“attachment_4180267” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Asaram Bapu. PTI[/caption] Asaram, who is in jail since 31 August, 2013, was charged under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the counsel said. If convicted, Asaram faces maximum sentence of 10 years, he said. He is also facing a rape case in Gujarat. Earlier, the apex court had refused to grant bail to Asaram on various grounds in the two sexual assault cases lodged in Rajasthan and Gujarat. The Supreme Court had yesterday pulled up the Gujarat Police for delay in completion of recording of evidence in one of the rape cases against self-styled preacher Asaram Bapu, lodged in Jodhpur jail, and directed it to conclude the process within five weeks. Asaram’s counsel had on 15 January told the court that in the Gujarat case, out of 92 witnesses, 22 material witnesses have been examined, 14 of them have been dropped and rest need to be examined. Two Surat-based sisters had lodged separate complaints against Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, accusing them of rape and illegal confinement, among other charges.