The police on Thursday filed charge sheet in a court here against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu for allegedly raping one of two Surat-based sisters who stayed at his ashram for nine years from 1997.
Among the other charges he faces are illegal confinement and criminal conspiracy. The police have also booked five others, including Asaram’s wife and daughter.
The elder of the two sisters accused the 72-year-old godman of repeated sexual assault between 2002 and 2004 at his ashram.
Asaram has been consistently denying the charges.
She is now in the Chandkheda area in Ahmedabad and went to Surat, along with the Ahmedabad police, to register her complaint with the Jehangirpura police station.
As a devotee of Asaram, she stayed at his Jehangirpura ashram in Surat.
It may be recalled that this is the second case of sexual assault against Asaram, who is presently lodged in a jail in Rajasthan since August last.
He was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a teenage girl at his ashram in Jodhpur.
The godman’s son Narayan Sai, against whom the younger of the two sisters, has registered a complaint of rape, is currently in a jail in Surat.
The 40-year-old Sai, also a self-proclaimed godman though not having the large following of Asaram, was declared an absconder by a Surat court in December last.
He was finally nabbed at the Delhi-Haryana border.
In a related development, a Surat sub-inspector was arrested with Rs. 1 crore cash for allegedly taking bribe to help Narayan Sai.
In fact, the Surat police have also detained five others with nearly Rs. 4 crore cash for allegedly trying to weaken the sexual assault case against Sai and Asaram.
