Testimonies of witnesses in Asaram case: ‘Studied only till class 3 but judges, politicians, IPS officers bow to me’

One of the prosecution witnesses, Mahendra Singh, who was later attacked, told the court that Asaram would often call girls whom he found ‘beautiful’ on the pretext of career counselling.

“What will you do by studying and if you are with me, then I will make people worship you and they will fall at your feet. I have studied only till class 3 but even judges, IPS officers and politicians bow down to me,” Asaram told the women, according to Singh.

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Singh also told the court that he had seen several women enter the hut of Asaram’s son Narayan Sai and once saw Sai in an objectionable position with a woman.

Another former disciple and once personal assistant of Asaram, Rahul K Sachan, told the court that a woman whom he regarded as a sister told him that she was being raped by Asaram.

Sachan had later seen the ‘godman’ kissing a 16-year-old girl and saw similar instances several times in cities such as Pushkar, Bhiwani and Haryana. Sachan told the court that he had written multiple letters to Asaram asking him about the incidents but got no reply after which he confronted him.

“One day I forcibly entered his hut and asked for a reply to the letters. Asaram said that such things are not sins for a brahmagyani. I asked him how does a brahmagyani feel the urge to do this but he didn’t reply,” Sachan told the court.

Asaram has been lodged in Jodhpur jail since 2013 and his multiple bail applications were rejected by different courts. (File)

Asaram called his guards and threw Sachan out of his hut, reads his testimony. Sachan also said that Asaram had non-vegetarian food and would refer to onion or garlic in code words such as ‘kasturi’ and ‘kesar’. He also took medicines to increase his sexual prowess and referred to opium as ‘panched booti’, Sachan told the court.

Read | Asaram convicted for raping minor, sentenced to imprisonment till death

He also said that three women at Asaram’s ashrams gave medicines to the girls who got pregnant to ensure the foetus was aborted.

Sachan was attacked twice, once in 2004 and once on the court premises in Jodhpur where he came to testify. He went missing on November 25, 2015 and is still untraceable.

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Ajay Kumar, another prosecution witness and former disciple, told the court that Asaram scolded and abused the women who sent girls to him if the ‘godman’ was not ‘satisfied’ with them. Kumar also said that he was beaten by the followers of Asaram more than once.

On Wednesday, Special judge Madhu Sudan Sharma of the SC/ST court observed in his judgment that Asaram tarnished the image of saints. “Asaram… also tarnished the image of saints in the eyes of the general public,” Sharma observed.