This
is a bit long, but I feel it's very important to keep up with this controversy;
especially if you hadn't heard about it.
Statements on 2012 Delhi gang rape victim-
Asaram Bapu was widely
criticized after his remark that the December 16, 2012
Delhi gang rape victim was equally guilty along with those
responsible for the sexual assault on her. He is reported to have said:
“Only five or six people are not the culprits. The victim is as guilty as her
rapists… She should have called the culprits brothers and begged before them to
stop… This could have saved her dignity and life. Can one hand clap? I don't
think so.” He is also reported to have said that he was against harsher
punishments for the accused in the Delhi rape victim case, as the law could be
misused. To support his point, he is said to have stated that, “Dowry law in India is
the biggest example of law being misused.”
Allegations of sexual assault-
In August 2013, Asaram
was accused of sexually
assaulting a 16-year-old girl at his ashram in Jhodpur on the pretext
of exorcising her from evil spirits. Two days after the alleged assault
the girl's parents filed a complaint with the police in Delhi and a medical examination confirmed
that she had been assaulted. Asaram was asked to surrender for
interrogation by August 31, 2013. He did not appear for interrogation by the
specified date and Delhi police booked him under Indian Penal Code sections
342 (wrongful confinement), 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation), and
sections of the Juvenile Justice Act, and the Protection of Children from
Sexual Offences Act. However, according to Jodhpur police, Asaram should have
been booked under molestation rather than rape since the girl's hymen was intact and her version of the
incident did not recount any penetration. Asaram remained inside his other
ashram in Indore and avoided
arrest while his devotees clashed with journalists and policemen
outside. Eventually, the Jodhpur police arrested him on September 1, 2013
from his ashram. He has dismissed the girl's allegations and said
accusations were a conspiracy orchestrated by Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi of the ruling Congress Party.
Bail Plea REJECTED-
The bail plea of self-styled godman
Asaram Bapu, accused of allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl, was
rejected on Wednesday by a Jodhpur court after the prosecution raised strong
objection to setting him free.
The District and Sessions Judge (Rural)
Manoj Kumar Vyas dismissed the bail plea after two days of hearing arguments by
Asaram's counsel K K Manan and perusing prosecution's detailed reply.
The court rejected the defense
counsel's arguments raised over the first information report, medical report
and statement of the girl who was sexually assaulted, Additional Advocate
Geneal Anand Purohit told reporters.
Seventy-two-year-old Asaram was sent
to jail on Monday after he was remanded in 14-day judicial custody by a court
in Jodhpur. Asaram was arrested in Indore following an FIR lodged by the victim
that she was sexually assaulted by him.
Asaram's counsel alleged that the
police had worked under the pressure of media and prepared FIR in a hurry. He
contended that the FIR against Asaram does not stand, as there are several
lacunae in it. He has been booked under sections 376, 342, 506 and 509 of the
IPC, section 8 of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO)
and sections 23 and 26 of the Juvenile Justice Act in connection with the
alleged assault.
The defence claimed that the victim
was not minor as was being claimed and in fact was an adult and so the charges
under POSCO against Asaram also do not stand.
Asaram was arrested amid high drama
on the intervening night of Saturday-Sunday in Indore and brought here on
Monday for interrogation. He has denied the charges. He has cleared a potency
test conducted on him at the SN Medical College in Jodhpur.
To recreate the incident, police had
also also taken to his Manai Ashram, about 30 km from Jodhpur, where the girl
was allegedly sexually assaulted.
Opposing the bail plea, the
prosecution said the ongoing probe in the case will be affected if he was freed.
If let off on bail Asaram will try to influence the investigations as he had
already tried to influence the police, it told the court.
Police claimed that Asaram's
supporters have threatened officers handling the case and even tried to bribe
the cops who had shown up to arrest him, a charge denied by the self-styled
spiritual preacher.
A threatening letter apparently faxed
from UP was received by Jodhpur Deputy Commissioner of Police A P Lamba who is
heading the probe in the case, the court was informed.
According to the police, Asaram's
medical report clearly showed that he had lied about being unwell to evade
arrest. It also contended that Asaram clearing the potency test showed that he
was capable of having sexually assaulted the girl.
"Points made by the prosecution
in its reply have been accepted by the court and the victim's statements have
been considered by the court too as recorded in the FIR," Purohit said.
The defence submitted that the girl
was an adult but the court accepted date of birth certificate of the victim
made availabe by the prosecution, and found her a minor, he said. "There
was no change in FIR either as demanded by the defence lawyer. The important
section 376 of IPC dealing with rape charge was also considered and maintained
by the court," he said.
Two other accused in the case Shilpi
(warden) and Sharad (caretaker of the ashram) were still missing or absconding,
he said. Purohit also commended the media role in the case. After the judgment,
Asaram's another counsel Jagmal Choudhary told reporters that he would move an
appeal in the high court against the bail rejection.
= This was the latest on the case. Will keep
you up to date!
-Nivedita Rao
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