Asaram found guilty of raping teenager in 2013, two co-accused convicted

Jodhpur – A Jodhpur court today held self-styled godman Asaram guilty of raping a teenage girl in his ashram five years ago, the second case of a powerful spiritual leader being convicted of a sexual offence in less than a year after Gurmeet Ram Rahim last August 

Special judge Madhusudan Sharma's verdict, which comes as the debate over sexual violence, particularly the rape of minors, intensifies across the country, was read out in the Jodhpur Central Jail where 77-year-old Asaram has been kept for over four years 

The special court for SC/ST cases convicted two other accused, Shilpi and Sharad, and acquitted two, Prakash and Shiva 

Arguments for the quantum of sentencing were going on inside the heavily fortified jail premises, where the trial court delivered its verdict in accordance with the directions of the Rajasthan High Court 

Asaram, who started from a hut on the banks of the Sabarmati and created a Rs 10,000 crore empire with 400 ashrams in India and other parts of the world in four decades, faces a minimum sentence of 10 years 

The chargesheet against Asaram and the four other co-accused was filed by the police on November 6, 2013 under various sections of the POSCO (Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, the Juvenile Justice Act and the Indian Penal Code 

The teenager had said in her complaint that Asaram had called her to his ashram in Manai area near Jodhpur and raped her on the night of August 15, 2013 

The young girl from Shahajanpur in Uttar Pradesh was studying at Asaram's ashram in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh 

"We had complete faith in the judiciary and are happy that we got justice," her father told journalists after the verdict came in 

The family, he said, had been living in constant terror and their business was hit 

Ahead of the verdict, security was stepped up in Jodhpur where prohibitory orders were imposed 

Apprehending a threat to law and order, the Centre had asked Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana governments to tighten security and deploy additional forces as the three states have a large number of Asaram followers 

The Union Home Ministry had sent an advisory fearing a repeat of the violence in Punjab and Haryana that followed the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim in August last year, when 13 people were killed. He was convicted in a 2002 rape case and sentenced to 20 years in prison 

Final arguments in the Asaram case were completed on April 7 and the court had kept the order reserved for April 25 

Asaram was arrested in Indore and brought to Jodhpur on September 1, 2013. He has under judicial custody since September 2, 2013 

Asaram is also facing a rape case in Surat in Gujarat in which the Supreme Court earlier this month gave five weeks time to the prosecution to complete the trial 

Asaram unsuccessfully moved 12 bail applications, of which six were rejected by the trial court, three by the Rajasthan high court and three by the Supreme Court. 
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