Hindu Leader Who Allegedly Chided Rape Victims Has Been Arrested On Charges Of Assaulting Minor At Ashram

Hindu leader Asaram Bapu caused an outcry recently when he advised that rape victims like the medical student savagely beaten and gang raped in Delhi could have avoided the attack by simply addressing the men as “brothers” and asking for mercy. He also said that saying a prayer might have avoided the attack. Now the “godman” has been booked on charges of forcing a 16-year-old girl into “unnatural sex” at a Jodhpur ashram. It is not clear if she tried to call him “brother.”

The girl was studying at a school run by Asaram in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh when she became ill. She was advised by “authorities” to go to the Asaram for “a special puja for her cure.” Asaram called the girl to come to his private ashram and told her parents to sit in a another room. The girl says that she was forced into sexual attacks and told that if she did not comply, his guards would kill her parents.

Asaram’s spokesman Sunil Wankhede however says that Asaram was not at the location on the day stated by the girl and that “[w]e will take legal action against the girl.”

However, a medical examine later confirmed the sexual assault on the girl.

The spiritual leader has been the long-standing source of controversies and police reports.

The family went to an event to confront the religious leader but was not allowed to see him. Only then did they go to the police.

Source: Hindustan Times