Asaram rape case verdict today amid tight security

April 25, 2018 08:32

A Jodhpur trial court will pronounce its verdict in the alleged rape of a teenager by self-styled godman Asaram who faces a minimum term of 10 years if convicted.

Apprehending a threat to law and order, the Centre asked Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana governments to tighten security and deploy additional forces as the three states have a large number of followers of the 77-year-old Asaram.

Jodhpur, where Asaram has been jailed since 2013, has been converted to a fortress to prevent any reprisals from his followers.

Similar precautions have been taken in Shahjahanpur of Uttar Pradesh, where the young woman and her family now stay.

In a communication, the Union home ministry told the three states to beef up security and ensure that no violence takes place after the judgment.

The three states were also told to deploy additional forces in sensitive places.

Asaram is accused of raping a teenage girl from Shahajahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, who was studying at the godman's ashram at Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh. Asaram has denied the rape charges.

The victim had alleged that Asaram called her to his ashram in Manai area near Jodhpur and raped her on the night of August 15, 2013.

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