Rajasthan: Sec 144 to be imposed in Jodhpur ahead of Asaram case verdict

Section 144 to be imposed in Jodhpur from April 21 to April 30 ahead of the self-styled godman Asaram Bapu Verdict. The verdict in the case is likely to be delivered on April 25.

Last year, there was large scale violence in Haryana after another self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted of rape by a court in Panchkula.

Asaram was arrested in August 2013 on charges of sexually assaulting a minor girl at his Jodhpur ashram and has been in jail since then.

The other accused in the case are Sanchita Gupta alias Shilpi, the warden of Asaram's ashram in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara, his cook Prakash, aide Shiva and ashram director Sharad Chandra.

The Jodhpur police had filed the charge sheet on November 6, 2013 after an investigation that lasted 77 days. The 1,011-page charge sheet has the statements of 58 witnesses.

Asaram has been charged with rape, human trafficking, wrongful confinement and conspiracy under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC), Juvenile Justice Act and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).