Gujarat Court Sentences Asaram to Life Imprisonment in 2013 Rape Case
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: A court in Gandhinagar on Tuesday, January 31, sentenced self-styled godman Asaram to life imprisonment for raping a disciple.
The woman had in October 2013 accused Asaram of rape on several occasions from 2001-2006 when she was living at his ashram at Motera near Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
According to PTI, the court convicted Asaram under Indian Penal Code Sections 376 2 (C) (rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful detention), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 357 (assault) and 506 (criminal intimidation), in the case lodged by his former woman disciple in 2013.
The 81-year-old is currently lodged in a Jodhpur jail, where he is serving life sentence for raping a minor girl at his ashram in Rajasthan in 2013.
The court had acquitted six other accused, including Asaram's wife Laxmiben, their daughter, and four disciples who were accused of aiding and abetting the crime, for want of evidence, the prosecution said.
Asaram was arrested from Indore in July 2013. In the next four years, nine witnesses in the rape case against him were attacked, three of whom died. Several witnesses were attacked and threatened for speaking against Asaram.
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