So-called Indian ‘Godman’ Asaram Bapu was on Wednesday given life term in connection with raping a minor girl in his ashram near Jodhpur in Rajasthan in 2013. 

The 77-year-old godman was convicted by the Jodhpur Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe Court, reports the Times Now.
 
As soon as SC/ST cases special judge Madhusudan Sharma pronounced the verdict inside the Jodhpur Central Jail, the self-styled godman broke down. 

Asaram has been convicted under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act.

Police filed the charge sheet against Asaram Bapu and four other co-accused - Shiva, Shilpi, Sharad and Prakash - on November 06, 2013. Shilpi (warden of the Ashram) and Sharad have also been convicted besides Ashram, while Shiva and Prakash have been acquitted in the case. 

Shilpi and Sharad have been sentenced to 20 years each in jail in the case. Asaram Bapu is also facing a trial in another sexual assault case at Surat in Gujarat. 

Asaram Bapu was arrested in Indore in September 2013 on the basis of the complaint filed by the 16-year-old girl, who hails from Uttar Pradesh's Shahajahanpur. She had accused him of raping her at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur on August 15, 2013. 

The victim was Class 12 student at Asaram's Chhindwara ashram in Madhya Pradesh. Earlier today, the father of the 16-year-old girl raped by Asaram Bapu expressed satisfaction over the verdict pronounced by the court. 

Talking to Times Now, the father of the rape victim thanked the judiciary for convicting Asaram. "I am happy to get justice," the rape victim's father said. Talking about how much did his family had faith in Asaram, the man said: "We considered him God". However, the self-styled godman used to make stories and befool his followers, added the father of the rape victim.

BDST: 1558 HRS, APR 25, 2018
AP