Rs 700 cr scam: Controversial godman Asaram Bapu in trouble

Mumbai, Jan 16:

, who recently made headlines with his shocking remarks on infamous

gangrape victim, landed in a fresh legal soup. Serious Fraud Investigating Office (SFIO) on Wednesday, Jan 16 sought him to prosecute in a land grabbing case in

, a scam worth Rs 700 crore.

It seems that controversies are yet to spare the self-proclaimed godman who has been facing several legal cases one after another. Senior official of Ministry of Corporate affairs was quoted as saying, "We have received the recommendation from SFIO to prosecute Asaram Bapu, his son Narayan Sai and some others in the case and its under consideration." [Read: Asaram Bapu and controversies]

The SIFO had sent its recommendation to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs seeking to prosecute Bapu and his son under the provisions of Indian Penal Code and Companies Act 1956 regarding the 200 acre land scam in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh.

According to sources, the land located on the Delhi-Pune freight corridor in MP belongs to Jayant Vitamins Limited and was allegedly grabbed in 2000 and is being used by them since then.

Asaram Bapu recently made headlines when he had claimed that 23-year-old victim of Delhi gangrape could have saved herself if she had addressed her attackers as "brothers" and chanted "Saraswati Mantra".

Asaram Bapu's statement enraged the countrymen though his supporters asserted that media have fabricated the video capturing his statement and did not show the "truth". The ruckus reached its peak when the "godman" called media and his critics "barking dogs".

However, Asaram Bapu later claimed that his statement was fabricated by media. The self-proclaimed godamn was quoted as saying, "I have been quoted out of context. The poor girl was young enough to be my own granddaughter. How can I ever be so insensitive as to blame her for the very tragedy that had stricken her?"

"The media reports have twisted my words. I will give a reward of Rs 50 lakh to anybody who is able to prove that I had blamed the rape victim herself for the heinous crime," he added.

OneIndia News
(With PTI inputs)