E-Paper
Attack on former aide: Charges framed against Asaram’s son
Complainant Mahender Chawla of Sanoli Khurd village of Panipat is a key witness in the rape case against Asaram and was allegedly attacked twice by unidentified assailants.
Charges were framed against Narayan Sai, son of Asaram, and three others at a district court in Panipat in a case of attempted murder lodged by Mahender Chawla, a former aide of the self-styled godman.
Chawla, a resident of Sanoli Khurd village of Panipat, is a key witness in the rape case against Asaram and was allegedly attacked twice by unidentified assailants.
Charges have been framed under Section 120 of the Indian Penal Code against Narayan Sai and Neeraj Kumar; sections 120-B, 195-A and 506 against Nishant Raj Ghangas; and sections 120-B, 307 and 452 against shooter Kartik.
The court has fixed September 20 as the next date of hearing in the case.
Amid heavy police security, Narayan was produced in the court along with the three other accused and the charges were framed in the evening.
After the hearing, the police took Narayan, Kartik and Neeraj to Gujarat’s Surat. Narayan has been allowed to appear online on September 20.
Chawla had in 1996 become Asaram’s follower at his Surat’s ashram and turned into his close aide in the years that followed.
In 1999, he went to the ashram, but returned in 2008 after the alleged death of a child in the ashram in Gujarat and became witness in the rape cases against Asaram and his son Narayan.
He had reportedly told the court that Asaram and his son were involved in the sexual assault cases and there was a network of people that “supplied girls” to the godman.
In May 2015, Chawla was shot at by two unidentified men at his residence. His brother Devender Chawla had filed a complaint with the police, who registered an FIR under sections 307 and 34 of the IPC and sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act.
