The girl’s statements to police and the court, as well as the chargesheet, lay bare a chilling account of a minor assaulted by a ‘man of God’ she and her family deeply revered.
New Delhi: She grew up listening to Asaram’s satsang, and prayed before his photo at her house every morning. He was her guru, her ‘God’. But all this was before 15 August 2013. That night, on the pretext of treating the 16-year-old, he raped her. He threatened he would kill her parents if she raised her voice.
Nearly five years later, Wednesday, Asaram and two of his accomplices, Shiva and Shilpi, were convicted of rape and under the POCSO Act, among other charges, with the ‘godman’ facing prison time for the rest of his life. The IPC sections invoked against Asaram include 376 (2) (F), which corresponds to rape by a man who holds a position of trust.
The gory details of the crime can be pieced together from the girl’s statements to police and the court, as well as the chargesheet. They lay bare a chilling account of a minor assaulted by a ‘man of God’ she and her family deeply revered.
“It was horrific to see the man I considered God touching me inappropriately and forcing oral sex. He told me he was treating me to exorcise the evil that had possessed me,” the victim said in her statement.
“At first, I was confused, then I went numb. I screamed, but he put his hand on my mouth. The gate to his secret room, where he took me, was locked, guarded by his men. While my mother sat outside, he assaulted me,” she added.
‘Exorcism’ of faith
In August 2013, the victim, a native of Uttar Pradesh, was studying at a gurukul, or a residential school, in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, when she developed a sudden severe headache.
When she approached the warden, Shilpi, she was told that an evil spirit had possessed her and that only Asaram could help. She told the girl’s father that he should take her to Asaram. On 12 August, one of Asaram’s helpers, Shiva, called the girl’s father and told him that the ‘godman’ wanted them at his ashram in Jodhpur’s Manai village to perform a “cleansing ceremony” on the girl’s soul.
“When we reached Jodhpur on 13 August, to seek his blessing, he was performing a satsang under a neem tree. He told me he would help me get rid of the evil spirit,” the girl said in her statement.
“He asked me about my future, and said I should become a disciple at his ashram. He then gave me holy water, some prasad, and asked us to retire to our kutiya,” she added.
On the night of 15 August, Asaram’s satsang continued till 10 pm. After that, he asked the girl and her family to meet him separately. “We were sitting in a courtyard, where Asaram’s kitchen staff served us milk. After that, he spoke to us for some time and then asked me to come and sit behind the kutiya. He told my parents to sit in the courtyard, pray and meditate, and then leave after some time,” she said.
Asaram then called the girl to a room inside the kutiya and switched off the lights. He lay down on the bed and asked her to sit beside him.
“First, he asked me about my studies. He touched my hand and rubbed my arm. He told me I should give myself over to the selfless service of the ashram. He said he would help me attain moksha,” she said.
“He then told me to get up and check if my parents had left. I told him that my father had, but my mother was waiting outside. He then locked the room from inside and started touching me inappropriately. He undressed, and I went numb,” she said. “He forced me for oral sex and started kissing. I screamed but he put his hand on my mouth and threatened to kill my parents.”
After assaulting the girl for over an hour, Asaram reportedly told her to fix her hair and leave. “He told me to… arrange my clothes and leave without a crease on my face,” she said.
The girl subsequently left the ashram with her parents, narrating the episode to her father only a day later, after reaching their house in UP.
Her father immediately left for Delhi, in search of Asaram. These were post-Nirbhaya days, when the horror of that crime was still fresh in people’s minds and the call to crack down louder than it had ever been. A tool introduced in the wake of the Nirbhaya episode, the zero FIR, which allowed rape victims to file a case anywhere, regardless of jurisdiction, proved a potent resource for the girl’s father, and Asaram was booked in Delhi.
The IPC sections invoked included 376 (rape), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), with Asaram also booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
In their investigation, police found a crucial clue in the suspects’ call detail records.
“From 6 August to 16 August, Shilpi, Shiva and Asaram exchanged several calls, which was unusual. Shilpi and Shiva also made several calls to the victim’s parents,” the chargesheet filed in court says.
“After the incident, the number of calls between Asaram and his staff reduced. This shows that it was a planned conspiracy to call the victim to the ashram with an intention to assault her sexually. It shows that the crime was planned,” it adds. According to the chargesheet, “The statements of the eyewitnesses, staff at the ashram corroborate the statements given by the girl and her parents.”
According to Ayn Rand, politicians and Witchdoctors like Asaram always form an alliance. The politicians are experts at controlling the body
of the masses and the Witchdoctors ( Asaram or any Baba) are good at controlling the soul of the masses. The alliance is lethal. Very bad for the country. It is not an accident that Modi, Vajpayee. the Shivsena and the Congress party leader sing from the same hymn-sheet. The common factor here is that all of them are politicians. Computer Baba and the Yogi in UP are gifts to the nation from the BJP politicians. Indira Gandhi had sexual affairs with some baba, Don’t be surprised if Asram goes Scott free. Miracles do happen in India.