Asaram verdict: Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana on high alert

The Centre has alerted Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana to take measures to deal with possible violence ahead of a verdict by a Jodhpur court in a rape case against self-styled godman Asaram to be pronounced on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has directed the three states, where Asaram has a large number of followers, to beef up security. Asaram is accused of raping a teenage girl at his Chhindwara ashram in Madhya Pradesh. He has been in jail since 2013.

Sources said the Centre does not want a repeat of the violence that resulted in 30 deaths after the sentencing of Baba Ram Rahim in a rape case.

Meanwhile, heavy security was deployed Jodhpur where the judgment will be given from a jail. Curbs have been put up across the city and police have set up control rooms at the railway station to check the entry of Asaram's followers.

Prohibitory orders have already been issued in Jodhpur and police conducted a flag march around the jail on Tuesday.