From ‘tongawallah’ to Rs 10,000-cr empire

Ahmedabad, April 25

From meditating in a small hut on the banks of the Sabarmati to commanding a sprawling Rs 10,000-crore business empire, self-styled guru Bapu Asaram soared high — only to plunge into ignominy after his conviction today for raping a teenaged minor. 

School dropout Asaram, once called Asumal Sirumalani, is believed to own 400 ashrams spread across India and abroad and has a legion of followers, many of whom still revere the controversial preacher, sentenced to life by a Jodhpur court.

When he was arrested in 2013, investigators had said the 77-year-old guru owed his immense wealth to buildings, stocks and shares, a lucrative money-lending practice and by selling ayurvedic products and religious booklets.

Documents seized by the police from Asaram’s ashram in Motera area here had revealed that he also owned vast tracts of land.

The grey-haired and bearded guru, who studied till Class 4, started attracting attention when he began meditating by a modest hut near the Sabarmati back in the 70s.

Soon, people were flocking to his hut and he had begun gaining popularity as Sant Asaramji Bapu. His official website states that he was born in 1941 in Berani village of the Sindh province in Pakistan.

After the Partition in 1947, he came to Ahmedabad with his parents and studied in a school in the Maninagar area, but dropped out when he was 10 after the death of his father, Thaumal. 

He did odd jobs in his early youth, including a reported stint as a tongawallah in Ajmer, and then, the website states, went towards the Himalayas on a spiritual quest, where he met his Guru, Lilashah Bapu.

It was Lilashah Bapu who apparently gave him the name ‘Asaram’ in 1964 and “commanded him to carve his own path and guide people”.

Asaram came to Ahmedabad in the early 70s and set up ‘Moksha Kutir’, a small hut on the banks of river, in 1972.

It wasn’t long before the hut had spawned into a full-fledged ashram. Soon, new ashrams had come up in various parts of the country, including a sprawling complex in Delhi’s protected Ridge area.  — PTI

Was pressured to change girl’s records: Principal 

Shahjahanpur (UP), April 25

The principal of the school where Asaram’s victim studied was a much-relieved man today with a Jodhpur court pronouncing the self-styled godman guilty of her rape.

The teacher, who is also a witness in the case, said he had been facing threats from Asaram’s followers to change the child’s date of birth to help the godman evade stringent punishment under POCSO Act. 

“There was pressure on me to change the date of birth mentioned by the guardian in the form at the time of admission. The disciples wanted me to show the age to be more than it actually was so as to suit them,” he said after the verdict. “But society has a lot of faith in schools and it was my moral duty to live up to it and I fulfilled my responsibility,” he added. — PTI

HYPOCRITES DESERVE PUNISHMENT: VHP

Nagpur: Newly-appointed VHP chief Vishnu Kokje on Wednesday welcomed conviction of self-styled godman Asaram in a rape case, saying it is a “lesson” to the hypocrite godmen who defame the Hindu religion through such “immoral” acts. PTI 

MP Landmarks to be rechristened

Bhopal: Following the conviction of Asaram, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Wednesday the places named after the controversial godman would be rechristened. Nobody is above the law, Chouhan said. PTI 

Justice sought for killed witnesses 

New Delhi: The CPM has demanded justice for the three witnesses killed in the rape case. “Nine witnesses were attacked of which three died... the courts should ensure that the other related cases are completed without delay,”it said. Ians