Asaram managing everyone, can do anything to us: Rape survivor’s father on bail

Shahjahanpur (UP), Mar 30 (PTI) With Asaram, who is serving life imprisonment in a rape case, getting fresh interim bail, the survivor's father has said his family now faces increased danger as the self-proclaimed godman "can do anything" to them any time.

The man, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur district, expressed surprise over Asaram being granted bail multiple times and claimed that "he is managing everyone".

The victim was raped at Asaram's Jodhpur ashram in 2013 when she was a minor (16).

The Gujarat High Court on Friday granted fresh temporary bail for three months to Asaram on medical grounds.

Senior advocate Shalin Mehta, representing Asaram, argued that the 86-year-old was suffering from heart and kidney ailments, and the only treatment available to him was ayurvedic 'panchakarma'.

The treatment at a Jodhpur-based ayurvedic facility had only just begun and would take another three months, the lawyer told the court.

"When Asaram was in jail, it was our victory. Now he is managing everyone. I am surprised that the court is repeatedly granting interim bail to Asaram, first for seven days, then 12 days, then two and a half months and now for three months," the survivor's father told PTI.

Earlier on January 7, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Asaram till March 31 in this case registered by the Gujarat Police.

As the three-month period was coming to an end on Monday, his lawyers moved the high court seeking bail for another three months starting April 1.

The survivor's father claimed that his family had been cheated by their lawyer, who did not file an objection to Asaram's bail plea despite getting all the papers ready.

"Even after repeated requests, our lawyer did not file an objection in the court. As a result of this, the court again granted him bail for three months.

"We signed all the papers and gave them to the lawyer but he did not file the objection and kept making us run around... he has cheated us," he alleged.

The survivor's father further claimed that ever since Asaram came out of jail, his supporters had been saying that he would not go back.

Now, their words are proving to be true, he said.

He said the self-proclaimed godman has been travelling from Jodhpur to Indore, Ujjain and Surat, and meeting his followers.

"What kind of illness does he have? Now the danger to our family has increased. He can do anything to us at any time. Now we are only dependent on God," he said.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajesh Dwivedi said a guard has been deployed at the rape survivor's house and two gunmen have also been given to her.

Apart from this, a CCTV camera, covering the survivor's entire house, has been installed in front of her residence. The local Kotwali Police have been instructed to monitor her house while patrolling at night, Dwivedi said.

"Our officers are constantly monitoring the security of the survivor's family," he added.

Meanwhile, reacting to the charges levelled on him, the survivor's advocate PC Solanki termed the allegations levelled on him by the survivor's father as baseless and said that the Supreme Court had granted interim bail to Asaram on medical grounds till March 31 in the Gujarat case on January 7 this year.

Accordingly, the Rajasthan High Court had released him on interim bail on medical grounds till March 31 in the Jodhpur case, he said, adding an information of which was immediately given to the survivor's father.

In a written statement, Solanki said that the bail documents, which were sent by the survivor's father after signing them, were filed by me in the Rajasthan High Court, which was listed on March 27.

He said that the bail application filed by him was given a further date due to the decision on the interim bail of Asaram being given the next day in the Gujarat court.

Solanki said that Asaram, meanwhile, filed his seventh application for suspension of his sentence in the Rajasthan High Court, which was rejected on March 4.

In such a situation whatever allegations are being made by the survivor's father are completely baseless, he added.

"When Asaram Bapu was given interim bail for three months, we had also advised the survivor's father to challenge it in the Supreme Court," said Solanki.

Giving details of his efforts and the legal process, he said, "I have honestly pursued all cases and will continue to do so in future." Solanki said the allegations levelled against him are far from the truth.

Asaram was convicted in the rape case in 2018 and sentenced to life imprisonment under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

In 2023, he was convicted by a Gujarat court for raping a woman disciple at his ashram in Ahmedabad's Motera area. PTI