Rajasthan: Rape convict Asaram's interim bail plea rejected by Jodhpur court

Jodhpur, Feb 21: A Jodhpur court on Thursday rejected the interim bail application of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu. A Jodhpur court in Rajasthan had in April convicted Asaram Bapu and two of his four associates in a 2013 rape case.

He is currently serving a life term sentence in the Jodhpur central jail for raping a minor girl.

A special Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Court, which was set up in the Jodhpur jail where Asaram was lodged, ruled that the 'self-styled' godman raped a 16-year-old girl in 2013 at his ashram in the outskirts of the city.

The court sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment and awarded 20 years each in jail to two of his associates - Sanchita alias Shilpi and Sharad Chandra. The court, however, had acquitted two of his associates Prakash and Sava Ram Hethvadiya in the rape case.

The Rajasthan Police had arrested Asaram Bapu in August 2013 for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl at his ashram. The verdict was delivered inside the premises of Jodhpur Central Jail, where Asaram was lodged, reports said.