All you need to know about Asaram rape case

Tribune News Service

Jaipur, April 25

Asaram and two other accused were on Wednesday convicted by a Jodhpur Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe court in a rape case nearly five years after the charges were levelled against the self-styled godman.

Asaram is accused of raping a teenage girl from Shahajahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, who was studying at the godman's ashram at Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh. 

Following is the chronology of the rape case.

August 15, 2013: A 16-year-old girl accuses Asaram of having called her to his ashram in Manai near Jodhpur and raped her.

August 20, 2013: Victim’s parents complain, case later transferred to Jodhpur.

September 1, 2013: Asaram arrested in Indore, brought to Jodhpur.

September 2, 2013: Remanded in judicial custody.

October 2013: Three women accuse Asaram and his son Narayan Sai of
rape in Gujarat’s Surat and Ahmedabad.

February 28, 2014: Husband of one of the rape survivors in Surat case
is stabbed at a hospital.

March 16, 2014: Two unidentified men throw acid at a witness in Surat case.

June 11, 2014: Witness in Surat case, Amrut Prajapati—a former aide of
Asaram—shot at in a Rajkot hospital. He later dies of his wounds.

January 2015: A witness, Asaram’s cook Akhil Gupta, shot dead in
Muzaffarnagar, UP.

February 13, 2015: Jodhpur rape case witness Rahul Sachan stabbed
outside the local court.

May 13, 2015: Mahendra Chawla, prime witness in a case against Sai,
shot at in Panipat.

July 8, 2015: Another witness, Sudha Pathank, turns hostile.

July 12, 2015: Another key witness in shot in Shahjahanpur, UP.

November 25, 2015: Rahul Sachan, a witness in two rape cases,
disappears after a constable drops him at Qaiserbag. Police
investigations find that call records show his last location as
Hardoi.

March 14, 2016: Gujarat ATS arrests Asaram’s henchman Kartik Haldar
from Raipur in Chhattisgarh. He is accused of killing Akhil Gupta.

November 6, 2016: Chargesheet against Asaram and four co-accused.
Suspects booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences
(POCSO) Act, Juvenile Justice Act and Indian Penal Code.

December 16, 2016: All cases against Asaram under POSCO moved to a
special SC/ST Act court in Jodhpur.

January 30, 2017: SC rejects two bail applications submitted by Asaram.

March 19, 2017: Trial begins

December 19, 2017: Chargesheet filed against Haldir.

April 6, 2018: SC pulls up Gujarat Police tardy pace of Surat rape investigations.

April 7, 2018: Special Judge Madhu Sudan Sharma hears final arguments
in the Jodhpur case.

April 25, 2013: Asaram found guilty of rape; two co-accused convicted, two others acquitted. 

During trial

Prosecution produced 58 witnesses.  

Three main witnesses: Amrit Prajapat, Akhil Gupta and Kripal Singh were allegedly murdered in 2013.

A special SC/ST court has been set-up in central jail's barrack two.

The co-accused have also been taken to the court amid high security. High-profile lawyers, who represented Asaram's bail pleas, included Ram Jethmalani, and Dr Subramanina Swamy, now a BJP RS MP.