Fall from grace

The conviction of yet another baba, who acquired fame with his religious preaching, for violating a minor girl; and the overwhelming sense of relief experienced by the father on the conviction brought an end to one part of the heinous crime. Expressing gratitude for those who stood by the family during the testing years of trial, the parent’s earnest desire that witnesses who either disappeared or removed from the scene would also get justice, is a reminder of the unfulfilled task.

The conviction of Asaram Bapu comes close on the heels of that other similar high-profile rapist baba — Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who is cooling his heels in jail. It renews faith in the judiciary. This assumes significance as the country is grappling with unspeakable horrific cases of rape that sullied the country’s image after the Nirbhaya, Kathua and Unnao cases. The inherent message is that however high and mighty the guilty may be, or how low they may stoop to criminally intimidate the victims and witnesses, they will be brought to book. It will go a long way in deterring crime. Support from all quarters of the judicial system in the fight will continue to be essential. Credit goes to the 16-year-old girl for standing her ground during the trial despite the murders of three of the nine witnesses, even as two more women charged Asaram and his son with rape. It should give strength to more victims to come out and put the offenders in the dock. Since the complaint, Asaram has been in jail for five years, and a sense of justice prevailed after being handed down life imprisonment until death and two co-accused getting a 20-year term.

Asaram joins the long list of charlatans whose ashrams had become dens of exploitation and depravity in the garb of providing spiritual solace. They include Premananda, Nithyananda, and Ram Rahim who had built empires worth crores of rupees and had lakhs of followers. It should be a wake-up call for all Indians: not all who preach spirituality are godly.