Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu has been convicted of rape by a local court in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. He has been serving a life sentence in Jodhpur’s Central Jail for a separate rape case.
ALSO READ | Who is Asaram, the preacher who built an empire of ₹10,000 crore
A woman from Surat accused Asaram Bapu of repeatedly raping her when she visited his ashram in Ahmedabad 10 years ago. The court will pronounce the punishment on Tuesday.
Asaram’s son Narayan Sai, his wife Lakshmi, daughter Bharti, and four female followers were also accused in the case. All of them were acquitted by the court.
Asaram was convicted in April 2018 of raping a Shahjahanpur girl at his ashram in Manai village near Rajasthan’s Jodhpur in 2013.
He was arrested by the Jodhpur police on August 31, 2013 and has been in jail since then.
Asaram had created an empire of ₹10,000 crore within four decades, starting from a humble hut on the banks of the Sabarmati river in the early 70s to over 400 ashrams across the country and the world.
(With inputs from PTI)
