25 April,2018 11:57 AM IST | Jodhpur | mid-day online correspondent
Asaram. File pic
Self-styled Godman, Asaram and all the other accused in the rape of a minor girl have been convicted by Jodhpur Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Court. After the conviction Asaram's spokesperson, Neelam Dubey, said, "We will discuss with our legal team and then decide our future course of action. We have confidence in our judiciary."
Asaram's involvement in the rape was probed in two separate cases - one from Rajasthan and the other from Gujarat. Father of Shahjahanpur survivo told ANI, "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."
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In the case registered in Rajasthan, a teenage girl from Shahajahanpur of Uttar Pradesh had accused Asaram of raping her at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur on the night of August 15, 2013, while in Gujarat, two Surat-based sisters lodged separate complaints against the self-styled godman and his son Narayan Sai, accusing them of rape. However, ahead of the pronouncement of the verdict in the above cases, here are the developments that have taken place so far: -Asaram was taken into police custody in August 2013, following which he was taken to Jodhpur Central jail.
A month later, a potency test was conducted on him and was produced before a Jodhpur court. While the self-styled godman has filed a number of bail petitions, a total of 12 applications were rejected by the trial court, the Rajasthan High Court, and the Supreme Court. -In November the same year, the chargesheet filed against Asaram and four others had indicated blackmail in exchange of sexual favours, after which the former was booked under Sections 342, 376, 506 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). -In the years that followed, a number of the key witnesses in the case were attacked or went missing. In 2014, Asaram¿s personal aide was shot dead, while another associate was killed in 2015 in Muzaffarnagar.
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