Asaram verdict: Here's a chilling primer on the case against the 'godman'

Starting out in a hut in Motera on the banks of the Sabarmati, Asaram's consisting of 400 minor and major ashrams spread across multiple Indian states and abroad

 

Asaram Bapu has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons for years now, both before and after his arrest in September 2013. The latest amongst these incidents connected to the godman is the death of a third witness in criminal cases against him – Kripal Singh, who was shot by two motorcycle-borne assailants in Puwayan in the Shajahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Even by the murky standards of India’s self-styled spiritual gurus, the allegations whirling around the 74-year-old Asaram are exceptional: suspected black magic and human sacrifice; the deaths of four young male students of the residential schools in his ashrams, of which the bodies of two were found severely burned and mutilated, their limbs and internal organs missing; sexual assault of a minor girl under the pretext of ‘exorcism’; allegations of repeated rape and illegal confinement of two sisters, supposedly with the complicity of the godman’s son, the latter also having been accused of raping the victims; attacks in four states against nine witnesses in criminal cases against the godman, leading to the death of three, of which one was a former personal aide of the guru and another his former cook; threats and intimidation of complainants, witnesses and their families, apart from judges and investigating officers in multiple states.

These do not include other alleged crimes that seem to be associated with Asaram – the suspicious deaths of at least two ashram employees, rumours of widespread sexual exploitation of female devotees, nearly a dozen cases of land encroachment across states, and pervasive financial irregularity. All of it apparently carried out brazenly thanks to the blessings of a higher power – the political elite in his home state and elsewhere.

Who is Asaram Bapu?

Born Asumal Sirumalani in pre-Independence Sindh in 1941, Asaram moved along with his family to Ahmedabad following Partition. The young man who once drove a tanga in Ajmer carrying pilgrims to the Dargah, and spent many years wandering pilgrimage spots, was eventually taken into a religious order in 1964, thus acquiring the name he is now known by.

Starting out in a hut in Motera on the banks of the Sabarmati in the early 1970s, Asaram’s religious empire grew to become one of the largest in the country, today consisting of 400 minor and major ashrams spread across multiple Indian states and abroad, and attracting thousands of devoted followers.

Not surprisingly, political leaders across parties have at one point or the other sought the guru’s blessings, if not been outright followers; the list includes former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani, Nitin Gadkari, Chief Ministers Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Raman Singh and Prem Kumar Dhumal, all from the BJP, as well as Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath and Motilal Vora of the Congress. Narendra Modi had appeared on stage with Asaram on several occasions in his Gujarat days, although after the allegations surfaced, he warned other BJP leaders against defending the godman.

There is no doubt that Asaram commanded great loyalty. One well-known devotee, D.G. Vanzara, the jailed ‘encounter specialist’ of the Gujarat police, is said to have insisted on drinking milk only if it was brought from the godman’s Motera ashram. According to some reports, Vanzara’s bitter missive from prison accusing the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of using and then abandoning him was said to have been prompted by the news of his spiritual guru’s arrest. “My god (Modi) could not save my guru (Asaram). How will he save me?” Vanzara had written in his September 2013 letter.

The Jodhpur rape case

In August, 2013 the Delhi police filed a case against Asaram on a complaint made by a 16-year-old girl, who alleged that the religious godman sexually assaulted her in his Jodhpur ashram. In her complaint, the girl, who hails from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, said that she was asked to perform oral sex and was also touched inappropriately during what was supposed to be a ceremony to cure her of evil spirits. The incident took place on 15th August, 2013.

On August 31, 2013 Asaram Bapu was arrested and flown to Jodhpur, where he was imprisoned. Investigators also alleged that Asaram video-recorded his sexual acts with several women so as to blackmail them into granting him further sexual favours. He was booked under Sections 342, 376, 506 and 509 of the IPC, as well as under Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and sections 23 and 26 of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Asaram has remained in jail since then, his bail pleas having been rejected six times, despite having been represented by two of the most prominent lawyer-politicians in the country, Subramanian Swamy and Ram Jethmalani. One of the arguments made by Jethmalani in court stretched to the absurd; for instance, that the victim had a “chronic disease which draws a woman to a man”.

Read More: Asaram Convicted 

Asaram broken after life imprisonment; Gujarat rape case pending: 10 points

Asaram has been sentenced to life imprisonment until his death by a Jodhpur court for raping a minor in 2013. Another case of alleged sexual exploitation on 2 Surat-based sisters remains pending

While a Jodhpur court on Wednesday sentenced self-styled godman Asaram to prison term for life until his natural death for raping a minor girl, two other women in Gujarat who have accused the 77-year-old preacher of sexually assaulting them are awaiting justice. The matter related to the alleged sexual exploitation of these two Surat-based sisters, who have alleged rape and illegal confinement by Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, is still pending before a court in Gujarat's Gandhinagar. Sai was arrested in December 2013 over the complaint lodged by these women.

In the Surat rape case, earlier this month, the Supreme Court gave the prosecution five weeks' time to complete the trial. The apex court pulled up the Gujarat Police for a delay in completing recording of evidence in the case, saying that "it cannot go like this for months".

Asaram, the man in the eye of a storm of his own making, reportedly appeared broken after his conviction on Wednesday and kept telling his legal team to "do something", even as arguments on the quantum of his sentence were being made. This was in stark contrast to how he had reportedly behaved with the victim in the case. Asaram had asked his victim, according to her statement, to 'surrender' to him, boasting that senior officials bowed their heads before him.

Meanwhile, following Asaram's conviction, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that nobody is above the law and promised "appropriate action" on an activist's demand that two places in Bhopal named after the jailed preacher be renamed. Reacting to Wednesday's developments, the Shiv Sena said that the Asaram rape case showed that the Hindu religion needed an "awakening", adding that the conviction and punishment handed down by the court was a "big victory" for the rape survivor.

Asaram was arrested in 2013 after a girl from Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur, then 16 years old and a Class 12 student at his Chhindwara Ashram in Madhya Pradesh, filed a complaint accusing Asaram of rape at his ashram in Manai village on the Jodhpur outskirts on the night of August 15, 2013.

Here are the top 10 developments following Asaram's life imprisonment until death sentence in the 2013 rape case:

1) After Jodhpur verdict, the pending Gujarat rape case judgment stares Asaram in his face: Two sisters from Surat who have charged Asaram with sexual assault are awaiting justice, with the matter related to their case still pending before a court in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The sisters had alleged they were raped and illegally confined by Asaram and his son Narayan Sai. While Asaram was arrested in September 2013 in connection with the Jodhpur rape case, his son Sai was arrested in December 2013.

While the elder sister accused Asaram of repeatedly assaulting her sexually from 1997 to 2006 at his Motera ashram in Gujarat, the younger one alleged Sai sexually assaulted her from 2002 to 2005 at an ashram in Surat. One of the sisters also alleged that Asaram's wife and daughter helped the two men rape the women.

In its chargesheet filed in 2014, apart from Asaram, the state police mentioned his wife Lakshmi, daughter Bharti, and four other women followers -- Dhruvben, Nirmala, Jassi, and Meera -- among the accused.

2) SC pulls up Gujarat police for slow pace in Asaram rape case: The Supreme Court had on April 6 pulled up the Gujarat Police for a delay in completion of recording of evidence against Asaram in the Surat rape case and directed it to conclude the process within five weeks. The top court said "it cannot go like this for months".

A Bench of justices N V Ramana and S Abdul Nazeer, which sought to know the status of the trial, was told by Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, that the victim's statement had been recorded. "The prosecutrix has recorded her statement. Only the star witnesses in the case now remain to be examined," Mehta had said. To this, the Bench had asked the ASG how much time was needed for examining the star witnesses.

Mehta had said that the process would take two-three more months to be completed. "How much more time do you want. It cannot go on like this for months. You have to complete it in five weeks. List the matter in five weeks," the Bench had said before turning down Asaram's bail plea.

Read our detailed copy on Asaram's conviction and life term in jail until death sentence in a rape case: Asaram verdict: Even if Brahma says he's rapist, won't believe say devotees

3) Once proud 'godman', Asaram 'broken' and 'restless' after life term verdict: Jodhpur Jail Superintendent Vikram Singh said Asaram appeared to be broken following his conviction by the Jodhpur Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Court. "Do something", the 77-year-old kept on muttering to his advocates during the hearing of arguments on the quantum of sentence, according to Singh.

"Asaram seemed nervous on hearing the verdict," said a police officer present on the premises of the Jodhpur central jail, where the judgment was pronounced. "Asaram appeared broken. He said he would now move a higher court," Singh said. Inside his cell, Asaram was restless and kept on lumbering for some time, he added.

Read what the court said about Asaram's actions: Asaram spoiled saints' image by his heinous act: Court

4) Sena says Hindu religion needs 'awakening': The Shiv Sena said that Asaram's conviction shows that the Hindu religion needs an awakening. Further, Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe told reporters in Mumbai that Asaram being sentenced to life in prison until his natural death was a "big victory" for the rape survivor. "Any person can today call himself an incarnation of God, when he is not. Asaram proved this through his actions. His bhakts may have been unhappy with the verdict, but it was a big victory for the minor who was raped by him," she said, adding: "This verdict also indicates that the Hindu religion needed an awakening before and it does so even now."

It was unfortunate that people who believed in the Hindu religion did not escape the clutches of fake godmen, she said. "One should only keep a relation with God and stay away from these middlemen," the Sena leader said....

Read More About Asaram's conviction