Surat police arrest 1 from Noida for attacks on witnesses in Asaram Bapu and Narayan Sai rape cases

Sahoo was working as an electrician and sound system controller in an Assisi Convent school at Sector 53 in Noida as an outsourced staff member, said Parmar.

The police tracked Sahoo to his house in Noida to find the family of Stephen Raj with his wife and their one-year-old son.

“He broke down after seeing evidence put forward by the Surat police for his involvement in the attacks on witnesses in Gujarat and other parts of the country. Unable to hide his identity, Stephen confessed to being Tamaraj Sahoo, a staunch disciple of Asaram Bapu,” said a police source.

According to the police, Sahoo’s wife was also shocked to learn about her husband’s past.

Two girls who were once disciples had lodged a complaint against Asaram Bapu and Narayan Sai, accusing them of rape in Surat in 2013. The rape case against Asaram Bapu was later transferred to Ahmedabad from the Surat police.

Inspector S N Parmar of Surat Crime Branch Police said, “Tamaraj Sahoo, Kartik Basavraj and others were behind attacks on the witnesses and their supporters in the rape cases lodged against Asaram and his son Narayan Sai. Later, in 2016, Gujarat ATS had arrested Kartik Basavraj. Tamaraj was afraid of his arrest by the Gujarat Police, so he changed his location from one place to another and changed his name at different places. He disconnected himself from the Asaram Ashram activities and also from his own family members.”

Parmar added, “While on the run, Tamaraj Sahoo reached Faridabad, and began staying at the Divine Retreat Ashram in 2021. He thought that by becoming Christian and staying inside the ashram, he could save himself from getting arrested by the police. Tamaraj changed his name to Stephen Raj and worked as an electrician in the Ashram. He came in contact with Manisha, who also hails from Chhattisgarh and works at Divine Ashram. They got married in 2023 and were blessed with a child. Stephen got a job as an electrician at Assisi Convent School at Sector 53, Noida, through an outsourcing agency. He and Manisha shifted to Noida around a year ago.”

Anupam Singh Gahlaut, Police Commissioner, Surat, said, “Tamaraj is a staunch supporter of Asaram Bapu and involved in three cases of attack on witnesses and supporters in the rape cases against Narayan Sai and Asaram Bapu. Both these religious leaders are presently in jail. Seven other cases of attacks and murders on the witnesses and their supporters were on his head in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Ghaziabad in UP, etc. We will dig out more information during his police remand period. Our police staffers were behind him for a long time, and finally, we succeeded.”

The three cases registered against Tamaraj Sahoo with the Surat police are – In February 2014, Umesh Thakker was stabbed by two persons on a bike on the campus of ESI hospital at Majuragate. The victim survived and lodged a complaint at Khatodara police station.

The second incident was the attack on Rakesh Patel in the Pal area on March 10, 2014. Patel was attacked with a knife by two youths travelling on a bike. He was saved due to the timely treatment. Rakesh Patel lodged a complaint against two unknown persons at the Adajan police station.

The third incident was on March 16, 2014, wherein a textile trader, Dinesh Balchandani, was attacked by two motorcycle-borne men who threw acid on him, injuring his face and body, while he was parking his bike at an apartment parking in Vesu. Balchandani got hold of one of the accused and handed him over to the police, while the other man managed to escape on the bike. Balchandani recovered and lodged a complaint at Umra police station.