Asaram case: Allahabad HC asks CBI to probe disappearance of key witness

The Allahabad High Court on Monday directed the CBI to investigate disappearance of a prime witness Rahul Sachan in the rape case against self-styled godman Asharam Bapu.

The court expected that the CBI shall conclude the investigation related to Thakurganj police station here and file its report not later than six months from Monday, if possible earlier. 75-year-old Asaram is facing rape charge after a teenaged girl accused him of sexual assault at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur. The girl belonging to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh was a student at the ashram.

Following her complaint against Asaram, he was arrested by Jodhpur Police on 31 August, 2013 and has been in jail since then. The High Court judgement, which was reserved earlier, was delivered by a Division Bench of Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Justice Vijay Laxmi on a PIL filed by Bennet Castelino, a lawyer.

The petition sought directions to the CBI to investigate the disappearance of Rahul Sachan, prime prosecution witness in the case against Asumal Harpalani aka Asaram Bapu.
According to FIR, Sachan went missing on November 25,2015.