Who fought asaram bapu case

A special court in Jodhpur will deliver its verdict on Wednesday against Asaram greets his supporters at a court hearing in 2015.(Ramji Vyas/ HT file photo) Asaram was arrested August 31, 2013, on charges of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl at his ashram near Jodhpur earlier that year and sent to the Jodhpur Central Jail. The girl, whose parents were long-time followers of Asaram, and her brother were students at a school attached to his ashram in Madhya Pradesh’s Chindwara. The girl fainted at the school one day in 2013 and the hostel warden told her parents that she should be sent to Asaram’s ashram to be exorcised as she was possessed by “evil spirits”. Read | The parents were told at Asaram’s ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur that he would need to be alone with their daughter for an hour to banish the “evil spirits”. She told her parents that she was sexually assaulted by Asaram during the period and they registered a police complaint in New Delhi. Case against Asaram The charges against Asaram include sexual assault, raping and illegally confining a minor, according to 1,300-page charge-sheet filed by the Rajasthan Police. The police also charged four others, including the hostel warden and three of Asaram’s aides, with trafficking for participating in the criminal conspiracy. Another rape complaint Asaram is also facing a rape case in Gujarat. Two Surat-based sisters, who lived in Asaram’s ashram in Gujarat between 1997 and 2006, lodged separate complaints a...

Poonam Chand Solanki is a lawyer in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur. He was born to a former railway mechanic and is the only brother of three sisters. His family ensured that despite modest means, Solanki completed his education and eventually studied law. The lawyer joined the bar in 1996. His first high-profile came in 2002 as per an Asian Age article. He filed a PIL in the Rajasthan High Court against the immersion of Ganesh idols made of Plaster of Paris in Gulab Sagar near the historic Ghantaghar, as it led to the death of several fish in the lake. In 2014, he was approached by the parents of a minor who was fighting a rape case against prominent godman Asaram Bapu, which is how he came to be associated with the case. What was the Asaram Bapu rape case? Self-proclaimed godman Asaram Bapu (born Asumal Sirumalani Harpalani) ran over 400 ashrams in India and abroad as well as 40 schools. In August 2013, 1 16-year-old girl staying at Asaram’s ashram near Jodhpur, accused him of sexually assaulting her at the ashram on the pretext of ‘exorcising evil spirits’ out of her. The girl’s parents were disciples of Asaram and filed a zero FIR in Delhi. Asaram was arrested in September and imprisoned in Jodhpur, where the trial began in the sessions court. A saram was charged 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. After the complainants were u...

JODHPUR: Senior BJP leader "Bail is a fundamental right of Asaram and he would soon file a bail application in the lower court," Comparing Asaram's case with those of politicians like Lalu Prasad and Jayalalithaa, Swamy asked, "when they could be out of jail despite being convicted, why could Asaram not be out of jail". Earlier, at the court, Asaram expressed hope regarding the meeting, saying, "Swamy would do something in my case."

• • • Asaram, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, Nithyananda and more: The 'godmen' who faced criminal cases Asaram, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, Nithyananda and more: The ‘godmen’ who faced criminal cases There is a history of 'godmen' in the country who have become centres of controversies over allegations, and sometimes convictions, of sexual abuse or rape cases, There is a history of ‘godmen’ in the country who have become centres of controversies over allegations, and sometimes convictions, of sexual abuse or rape cases. Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu was on Wednesday convicted of raping a 16-year-old school girl from Uttar Pradesh at his Jodhpur ashram in 2013. The girl was reportedly brought to Asaram on the pretext of curing her of “evil spirits”. Asaram has been also been named in another rape case in which two sisters from Gujarat have accused him and his son, Narayan Sai, of sexually assaulting them. There is a history of ‘godmen’ in the country who have become centres of controversies over allegations, and sometimes convictions, of murder, sexual abuse or rape cases. Here is a list of such offenders: Asaram Bapu Asaram Bapu (Files) Convicted on Friday in the 2013 case of a minor’s rape, Asaram Bapu, who has often called himself a “bhagwan”, faces rape charges in another case where two sisters from Gujarat have claimed that Asaram and his son Narayan Sai sexually assaulted them on many occassions and confined them illegally between 2001 and 2006 at one of their ashrams. Follow LIVE Updat...

New Delhi: Self-styled guru Asaram has been convicted by Jodhpur court for raping a teenager in 2013. News18 looks back at the series of events which led to the arrest of Asaram. Asaram was arrested on August 31, 2013, after a teenage girl alleged that she was subjected to sexual assault by the self-styled guru when she stayed at the Ashram in Mani village. The victim was a resident of Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh and was a student there. Asaram was charged under relevant sections of Prevention of Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and Schedule Caste and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. August 15, 2013: The day of alleged sexual assault by the self-styled guru. August 20, 2013: The victim’s parents filed a complaint in Delhi and the case was later transferred to Jodhpur police. August 23, 2013: Supporters of Asaram attacked Kamla Market police station in Delhi in retaliation to the case. August 28, 2013: Father of the teenager demands death for Asaram whereas the self-styled guru's son described the young girl as mentally unstable. August 29, 2013: Indirect allegations made by the accused that he was being targeted by the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi. August 31, 2013: Jodhpur police arrested Asaram, who was later sent to jail by a court. His supporters created a ruckus outside court against the order. November 6, 2013: Jodhpur police files chargesheet against Asaram and four co-accused. He was charged with wrongful confinement and rape of a...

• • • Asaram gets life term: Here are other cases when women didn't bow down to the powerful Asaram gets life term: Here are other cases when women didn’t bow down to the powerful Asaram convicted: Even though India ranks 135 out of 147 countries on women empowerment in the United Nations Human Development Index, there have been rare instances when women have single-handedly fought for justice against people with power and have managed to get their conviction. Asaram convicted: With several witnesses of the case being murdered by Asaram’s loyalists, it certainly would have been very tough for the girl to not buckle under pressure and continue the fight for justice. (File) The Jodhpur special court verdict convicting self-styled godman Asaram can be seen as an example of justice prevailing against all odds. In the five years since the case was first registered, the victim and her family have been traumatised in one way or the other. With several witnesses of the case being murdered by Asaram’s loyalists, it certainly would have been very tough for the girl to not buckle under pressure and continue the fight for justice. “We had complete faith in the judiciary and are happy that we got justice,” the victim’s father told journalists after the verdict. Considering the delay in the Indian justice system and the role of influentials in swaying trial in many cases, people often give up. But in this particular case, the courage shown by the victim is exemplary. Even though India r...