Asaram rape case

Asaram Appeared Broken, Kept Saying "Do Something" To Lawyers: Police

While the arguments on the quantum of sentence were on, Asaram, 77, kept asking his advocates to "do something".

Asaram was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday, nearly five years after he was arrested.

Jodhpur: After a judge pronounced him guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl, self-styled godman Asaram appeared broken and nervous, said police officers who were present on the premises of the Jodhpur central jail where the judgement was pronounced.

"Asaram appeared broken. He said he will now move a higher court," Press Trust of India quoted Jodhpur Jail Superintendent Vikram Singh as saying.

"Asaram seemed nervous on hearing the verdict," PTI quoted another police officer as saying, and added "Asaram was restless and kept on lumbering inside his cell for some time

While the arguments on the quantum of sentence were on, Asaram, 77, kept asking his advocates to "do something".

Asaram was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday, nearly five years after he was arrested. He was accused of rape, and trafficking under POCSO, a stringent law on sexual crimes against children. 

The young girl Asaram raped was left alone with him by her parents because Asaram's aides said he would "cure" her of evil spirits that had possessed her. She testified later that he threatened to kill her if she revealed what he had done to her.

The judge said in his 453-page judgement that by his heinous act, Asaram has not merely shattered the faith of his devotees in him but has also harmed the reputation of saints among common people.

Of the four people accused along with him, two have been found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in jail. Two others have been acquitted.

After Life Term For Asaram, His Followers Announce Oust-BJP Campaign

Asaram rape case: The self-styled guru has been found guilty of raping a school girl in 2013 at his ashram near Jodhpur.

• Asaram's followers claim today's judgment was engineered by the BJP
• His followers, by some estimates, number close to 40 million
• Asaram has a huge following in BJP-ruled UP, Haryana and Gujarat
• With self-styled spiritual guru Asaram getting life imprisonment in a rape case, his followers -- who, by some estimates number close to 40 million -- have vowed to vote oust the BJP in the next elections. They claim that today's judgment by a Rajasthan court, which put the 77-year-old behind the bars for the rest of his life, was engineered by the BJP.
• 
  A press note headed "Bapuji's crores of followers will shunt out the BJP in the coming elections" accused the government of interfering in judicial decisions, citing the recent Supreme Court verdict in the judge Loya case.
  
  
  Last week, the top court had turned down a number of petitions calling for an independent inquiry into the sudden death of the judge, who was handling a murder case in which BJP chief Amit Shah was accused. His successor had cleared the BJP chief, saying there was not enough evidence for a trial.  
• "The BJP's interference in judicial matters is clearly visible" the note read, linking the verdict to the subsequent impeachment notice by the opposition.
  
  "In the Asaram Bapu verdict, we cannot rule out that BJP may have tried to influence the judiciary. There might be a political interest involved here in view of the upcoming elections. The party may be trying to save its skin and take credit," the note read.
  
  Asaram's followers warned that for the coming elections, they will undertake a statewide drive to oust the BJP.
  
  While the BJP government of Vasundhara Raje is hoping for a second term in the coming assembly elections in Rajasthan, the warning has implications for the BJP in other states too, ahead of next year's general elections.
  
  Asaram has a huge following in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat. This morning, ahead of the verdict, the Centre had asked all four states to be on alert in view of possible law and order disruptions by Asaram's followers.  
  
  Asaram's spectacular rise from rags to riches over the last four decades has drawn political "friends" from both Congress and the BJP. He counted among his admirers former union minister Uma Bharti, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and ex-ministers Kapil Sibal, Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot of the Congress