‘Asaram habitual offender who exploits women’

Asaram is a habitual offender who regularly indulged in physical and sexual exploitation of women, according to the mother of the minor girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by the controversial godman.

Asaram is a habitual offender who regularly indulged in physical and sexual exploitation of women, according to the mother of the minor girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by the controversial godman.

“I had seen him kick a woman during a religious congregation in Delhi. Similarly, at his Ahmedabad ashram, he once called a beautiful woman alone in his room,” the victim’s mother told Hindustan at Shahjahanpur.

She said the incident has “not only shattered” the family’s years of faith but also “destroyed the self-confidence” of their daughter.

The 35-year-old mother said ashrams of Asaram have become “havens” for heinous crimes against women. “Here, women like Shilpi are prepared to surrender themselves before Asaram. They are tutored that in case he meets them alone, they would get big things in life,” she said.

The victim’s mother alleged that young women exploited by Asaram don’t speak out because of fear.

“He had threatened my daughter to keep quiet else her parents would be in trouble. He gave her the example of one of the principals of his ashram who went missing, never to return again,” she said.