The reaction to the recent cases, which has seen thousands of people
take to the streets in protest, has been compared to the nationwide
outcry over the 2012 gang rape of 23-year-old physiotherapy student
Jyoti Singh, who later died from injuries sustained in the attack.
Just
over a week after her death, Asaram landed himself in controversy when
he accused Singh of being partially responsible for the assault.
Addressing the attack, Asaram was quoted as saying that "the victim is as guilty as her rapists." Adding that "It takes two sides to make a mistake."
Around
100 sexual assaults are reported to police in India every day,
according to the National Crime Records Bureau. There were nearly 39,000
alleged attacks in 2016, an increase of 12% on the previous year.
A Indian court has sentenced self-proclaimed Indian spiritual guru Asaram Bapu to life imprisonment for raping a 16-year-old girl in 2013.
The
guilty verdict was handed down Wednesday amid high security at Jodhpur
Central Jail in the western state of Rajasthan, according to local
Police Commissioner Ashok Rathore.
Asaram's spokesperson Neelam Dubey told reporters that his legal team will challenge the verdict in India's High Court.
The arrest of Asaram in 2013 prompted violent clashes between his supporters and police in several major cities.
Before the verdict was handed down,
police were placed on high-alert across three Indian states, amid the
threat of further violence. The three states, Rajasthan, Gujarat and
Haryana, are home to large numbers of Asaram devotees.
Special
prohibitory orders remain in place in Jodhpur, with the Rajasthan High
Court imposing Section 144, which prohibits the gathering of more than
four people in an area, until April 30.
Security has also been stepped up around the alleged victim's house, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Prior to the verdict, Asaram's
spokesperson refuted suggestions that the guru's followers were planning
to protest a potential guilty verdict.
"What
kind of protest?" said Dubey. "We have full respect for the courts. If
the lower court verdict doesn't go our way, we will approach the High
Court or Supreme Court."
The heightened security has echoes of last year's trial of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh,
head of the spiritual sect Dera Sacha Sauda, who was found guilty of
raping two of his followers, in a high-profile trial that saw at least 36 people killed and hundreds injured after riots erupted in the wake of the verdict.
Asaram, 77, who is described as on his website as "spiritual revolutionist" and a "great teacher," is one of India's best known spiritual gurus.
Called
simply "Bapuji" or "father" by his followers, Asaram first rose to
prominence in the 1970s. In the decades since, he has built up a vast
religious empire that includes 400 ashrams, or religious schools, across
India, as well as numerous global outreach programs.
Guilty verdict
Asaram
was found guilty of sexually assaulting a then 16-year-old follower
during a religious ceremony intended to cure her of evil spirits, held
at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur, on August 15, 2013.
The girl had been brought to Asaram by her parents, though they were not present during the time of the alleged assault.
Asaram,
who was 74 years old at the time of the incident, claimed he was
physically incapable of rape, but police argued that medical tests found
him to be in good shape.
Asaram's legal team had also questioned the age of the girl, claiming she was not a minor and had repeated the seventh grade.
"As far as our legal views are
concerned, we have tried our level best. The girl who was called as
innocent was above 18 years. They haven't provided paperwork like a
birth certificate," Dubey said before Wednesday's court ruling.
In
October 2013, the Rajasthan High Court in Jodhpur dismissed the claims,
stating various school certificates listed her date of birth as July 4,
1997.
Spiritual icon
Asaram's sentencing comes on the back of a series of particularly brutal rape cases in India, including two alleged unrelated attacks on girls aged 16 and eight.
The
fallout from the cases has put pressure on Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who opponents accuse of
defending the men implicated in both attacks.
Modi has since defended the actions of his government, and described the issue of sexual violence as "a matter of great concern for the country."
The reaction to the recent cases, which has seen thousands of people
take to the streets in protest, has been compared to the nationwide
outcry over the 2012 gang rape of 23-year-old physiotherapy student
Jyoti Singh, who later died from injuries sustained in the attack.
Just
over a week after her death, Asaram landed himself in controversy when
he accused Singh of being partially responsible for the assault.
Addressing the attack, Asaram was quoted as saying that "the victim is as guilty as her rapists." Adding that "It takes two sides to make a mistake."
Around
100 sexual assaults are reported to police in India every day,
according to the National Crime Records Bureau. There were nearly 39,000
alleged attacks in 2016, an increase of 12% on the previous year.
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