Asaram Bapu’s legal head booked for molesting MP woman at Jodhpur ashrama: Police

This is the same ashrama where a minor was raped by Asaram in 2013 for which the self-styled godman was convicted in 2018 with life time imprisonment

Jodhpur: A 56-year-old woman devotee from Madhya Pradesh has accused the legal team head of self-styled godman and rape convict Asaram Bapu’s Jodhpur ashram, along with three other management staff members, of molesting her, police said.

A lower court had sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment in April 2018 for raping a minor at his ashram in Jodhpur in 2013. On January 14, the Rajasthan High Court granted interim bail to him until March 31 (HT Photo)

An FIR was registered on Tuesday against the ashram’s legal head, Pankaj Mirchandani alias Arjun, and management staff members Chetanram Sahu, Sachit Bhola, and Jeevan on charges of molestation at the Boranada police station, after a complaint was filed following directions from additional chief metropolitan magistrate court No. 8.

“The complainant, a 56-year-old woman from Madhya Pradesh, alleged in her court-mandated FIR that she frequently visited Asaram’s ashram on Pal Road, Jodhpur. This is the same ashram where a minor was raped by Bapu in 2013 for which the self-styled godman was convicted in 2018 with life time imprisonment,” said a senior police officer, who asked not to be named, on Wednesday.

According to the complainant, on July 21 last year, she visited the Jodhpur ashram with six other female devotees to attend a pre-recorded religious sermon delivered by Asaram. During the session, she inquired about the ongoing legal cases against him, after which some devotees advised her to meet the ashram’s management and legal head, Mirchandani.

The complainant alleged that after the incident the same day, she went to the police station to file a case but no action was taken. According to the survivor, she subsequently met the police commissioner and submitted a written complaint. The FIR, however, was only registered after she approached the court, which directed the police to take cognisance of the complaint.

Further investigation into the case is on, the police officer, quoted earlier, said.

A lower court had sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment in April 2018 for raping a minor at his ashram in Jodhpur in 2013. On January 14, the Rajasthan High Court granted interim bail to him until March 31.