A Jodhpur trial court has on Wednesday (April 25) sentenced self-styled godman Asaram to life imprisonment after being found him guilty of raping a teenager in 2013.
Of the total five accused, three – including Asaram – were convicted, and two were acquitted.
While Asaram was sentenced to life in prison – until death – by a special SC/ST court, the two other people convicted in the rape got twenty years in prison.
The verdict and sentence were both pronounced from Jodhpur Central Jail, where Asaram is lodged. He has been in jail since August 31, 2013.
He was accused of sexual assault on a 16-year-old girl at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The girl was living in the ashram as a student.
Asaram was charged under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Hindusthan Samachar/Shri Ram Shaw
