Rape: Asaram verdict today, 3 states on alert

Our Correspondent & PTI

New Delhi/Jaipur, April 24

On the eve of verdict in a rape case against Asaram by the SC-ST Court at Jodhpur Central Jail, the Union Government on Tuesday asked Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana to beef up security and deploy additional forces, an official said.

In a communication, the Home Ministry asked the three states, which have a sizeable number of Asaram followers, to step up security and ensure that no violence takes place after the Wednesday judgment.

The Rajasthan Police have enforced Section 144 of the CrPC in Jodhpur, barred entry of followers into the city, evacuated two ashrams and scoured hotels to avoid a repeat of last year’s Panchkula violence after Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s conviction.

Hundreds of personnel of five Rajasthan Armed Constabulary, cops from local police stations and Railway Protection Force have been deployed in sensitive areas following a Rajasthan High Court order, DCP-East Aman Deep Singh said.

On April 17, a Division Bench of the High Court had ordered the SC-ST Court to deliver verdict in the alleged rape case against Asaram on jail premises on April 25. Judge Madhu Sudan Sharma had completed the final arguments in the case on April 7.

A minor girl from Saharanpur, UP, had lodged a case of sexual assault by Asaram at his ashram in Manai village on the outskirts of Jodhpur on the night of August 15, 2013.

Asaram, who has been in jail since August 31, 2013, was booked under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and the SC/ST Act. He was denied bail by the Supreme Court. If convicted, Asaram faces maximum imprisonment of 10 years.