Rape Convict Asaram Bapu Parole Granted: Asaram has got big relief from Rajasthan High Court in the rape case. The court has approved Asaram’s 7-day parole for treatment. This is the first time in the last 11 years that Asaram will come out of jail on parole. He will be taken to Maharashtra for treatment in police custody. At present, he is serving life sentence in Jodhpur Central Jail.
Parole granted for the first time in 11 years
In fact, Asaram was arrested exactly 11 years ago. There was that day and today, Asaram is in jail for the last 11 years. Asaram was sentenced by Gandhinagar court in the rape case. In this case, Asaram was sentenced to life imprisonment by the sessions court. This case of rape was registered against Asaram in the year 2013. However, the rape incident with the victim took place between 2001 and 2006.
Son also in jail in sexual harassment case
It is worth noting that the victim’s sister had also filed a rape case against Asaram’s son Narayan Sai. In this case, Narayan Sai was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2019. The FIR in the case in which Asaram was sentenced was lodged in the year 2013 at Chandkheda police station in Ahmedabad.
FIR against 7 people including Asaram
According to the FIR, the victim woman was raped several times between 2001 and 2006 in an ashram outside Ahmedabad city. The victim woman had filed a case of rape and illegal confinement against Asaram and seven other people in this case. Apart from Asaram, his wife Lakshmi and daughter Bharti were also made accused in this case.
The court had considered only Asaram guilty
However, Sessions Court Judge DK Soni has sentenced Asaram considering only Asaram guilty in this case. The remaining 6 accused have been acquitted due to lack of evidence. Whereas, one accused died during the trial in October 2013. Asaram used to call himself ‘God’ and his devotees used to call him ‘Bapu’. At one time, big celebrities were also among Asaram’s devotees, but today he has been branded as a ‘rapist’.
How did Asuman Thaumal Harpalani become Asaram?
Asuman Thaumal Harpalani was born on 17 April 1941 in Bairani village of Sindh region of present-day Pakistan. After partition, the family settled in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat. It is said that Asumal Harpalani alias Asaram once drove a tanga. He had sometimes worked as a roadside tea seller and had also tried his hand in the liquor business.
According to Asaram’s website, he went to Leelaji Maharaj to attain God. Leelaji Maharaj taught him meditation. On 7 October 1964, Asaram had ‘self-realisation’. In this way he became ‘Asaram’ from Asumal. It is also said that Asaram had a desire to become ‘God’.
In 1972, Asaram opened his first ashram in Motera town, 10 kilometers from Ahmedabad. Gradually Asaram became the ‘Bapu’ of the people. It has been claimed on Asaram’s website that today he has 400 ashrams and 40 Gurukuls across the world. It is also claimed that he has three crore devotees all over the world.
This is how Asaram’s downfall began!
Asaram had become a big ‘saint’ not only for India but for the world. Big celebrities and politicians used to come to his ashram to pay obeisance. Asaram’s downfall began when half-burnt bodies of two children were found in his ashram in 2008.
In fact, on July 5, 2008, half-burnt bodies of 10-year-old Abhishek Vaghela and 11-year-old Deepak Vaghela were found in the dry bed of Sabarmati river outside Motera Ashram in Gujarat. Both were cousins. The family members alleged that both of them were enrolled in Gurukul and the children were sacrificed for the sake of Tantra-Mantra.
When this matter gained momentum, the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi constituted a commission of inquiry. The report of the commission was not made public. Some arrests also took place. Many were also convicted of murder. Asaram was not affected in this matter, but his troubles started increasing.
Baba’s dark deeds exposed
The ‘black deeds’ of Asaram and his family came to the fore in 2013. At that time Asaram was accused of raping a minor girl. The girl’s parents told that their daughter lived in a Gurukul in Chhindwara. One day he got a call that his daughter was unwell, she was possessed by a demon and now only Asaram could cure her.
The girl’s parents took her to the ashram in Jodhpur. It was alleged that Asaram called his 16 year old daughter to his cottage and raped her. A case was registered against Asaram on 15 August 2013. Asaram was arrested from Indore on 31 August.
Then two sisters accused of rape
A few months after the case of rape of a minor girl came to light, two sisters also filed a case. One sister filed a case against Asaram and the other against Narayan Sai.
Both the sisters alleged rape, unnatural sex and illegal confinement. The sisters alleged that Asaram and his son Narayan Sai raped them between 2001 and 2006. Asaram’s wife Lakshmi and daughter Bharti were also made accused in this case. One sister had filed a case against Narayan Sai in Surat and the other against Asaram in Ahmedabad.
Punishment given in this case
Asaram was convicted in April 2018 in the case of raping a minor girl in the ashram of Jodhpur. Jodhpur court sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment.
After this, in April 2019, the Surat court found Narayan Sai guilty of rape. Narayan Sai was sentenced to life imprisonment. Also ordered to pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh to the victim. At the same time, now the Gandhinagar court has convicted Asaram and he has been sentenced to life imprisonment in this case.
Ashram under question
In April last year, the body of a girl was found in an ashram in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh. This body was kept in the car. The girl was 13-14 years old. The girl whose body was found was missing for several days. Five months before this incident, a 27-year-old youth had also gone missing from Asaram’s ashram in Sabarmati. His family members had filed a missing report. In 2008, half-burnt bodies of two brothers were also found in the dry bed of Sabarmati river outside Motera Ashram.
In 2013, Sudha Patel, a follower of Asaram, gave an interview to Aaj Tak/India Today, in which she told about the ‘black deeds’ of Asaram’s ashram. Sudha Patel joined Asaram’s Motera Ashram in 1986. Sudha Patel had claimed that two women were given code names in the ashram. The name of one was ‘Hedal’ and the other was ‘Bangla’. Hedal means peacock in Gujarati. Sudha Patel had claimed that the job of those two women was to pay attention to the young girls coming to the ashram.
According to Sudha, Asaram used to throw fruits or candies on any girl he liked. This meant that the girl should be persuaded. Sudha said that it was very rare that a girl would protest. On the contrary, most of the girls and their family members believed that God had special blessings on them. Not only this, sometimes the girls also used to argue about who would go to Asaram’s hut today.