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regular-article-logo Sunday, 05 May 2024

Uttar Pradesh: Cops yet to act on Asaram’s henchmen

The family were the sadhu's disciples till 2013, when he invited them to his ashram in Jodhpur and raped the woman

Piyush Srivastava Lucknow Published 11.04.22, 03:58 AM
Asaram.

Asaram. File photo

The father of a woman for whose rape sadhu Asaram has been serving a life term since 2018 said on Sunday that the jailed monk’s henchmen were still threatening the family and the police were doing nothing.

“I lodged a police complaint on March 21 saying a youth came to my home and threatened to set my entire family on fire,” the father told reporters in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where the family lives.

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“He was angry because my legal battle got Asaram jailed. He threw a letter at my doorstep. It said he would set me and my family members on fire.”

The father identified the man as “Ram Singh of Gopalpur area of Mainpuri and a goon of Asaram” and said the incident was recorded in CCTV footage. “Still the police are not acting against him,” he said.

The family were disciples of Asaram till 2013, when the sadhu invited them to his ashram in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and raped the woman.

The father also referred to the discovery of a girl’s body in a car at Asaram’s ashram in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday. The girl had been missing since April 5.

“The police are not doing anything to arrest the killers because she was killed in Asaram’s ashram,” the Shahjahanpur father said.

Pankaj Singh, circle officer for the ashram’s neighbourhood in Gonda city, said: “According to the initial probe, the girl was killed and put in the car. We have formed police teams and hope to arrest the culprits soon.”

Sanjay Kumar, Shahjahanpur city superintendent of police, said: “We have received a complaint from the father of the rape victim and are probing the veracity of the letter. We are also trying to arrest the accused seen in the CCTV.”

He did not explain the three-week delay in action.

The father said: “After a Jodhpur court convicted Asaram in the rape case, his henchmen had declared they would wipe out my family. I had lodged a police complaint in 2018 but nothing was done. I am receiving threats again. While the court gave us justice, the police have been soft against the criminals.”

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