A Jodhpur court on Wednesday reserved its order on self-styled godman Asaram Bapu's bail petition, who has been arrested in connection with a sexual assault case.
The hearing was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, but was put off till today by a Rajasthan court.
District and Sessions Judge (Rural) of Jodhpur Manoj Vyas had put off the hearing till Wednesday to allow the prosecution to argue on the bail plea, Asaram's lawyer KK Manan said.
Asaram, 72, who was arrested from his ashram in Indore in Madhya Pradesh last week, had sought bail claiming that police erred in booking him under rape charge, which is non-bailable.
On Tuesday, Asaram created ruckus in jail over a demand for gangajal or holy Ganga water. The controversial godman reportedly claimed that he would not accept water without a drop from his bottle carrying gangajal.
According to reports, Asaram recently cleared a potency test conducted on him by a team of three doctors, who established that he was not impotent as opposed to his claims. The test conducted revealed that he was indeed potent and capable of committing rape.
Earlier, Jodhpur Police said they are clear that they had enough evidence against Asaram Bapu in a case that is 'purely criminal' in nature.
"We have gathered sufficient evidence in the last ten days. Whatever has been said by the victim, we have collected the evidence which collaborate with her statement. We are making it a foolproof case," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Ajay Pal Lamba.
"There is no conspiracy. It's a pure criminal case. It is purely a criminal act. On the part of the police, whatever investigation and action is to be taken in such a case, we are doing that. Whatever the accused wants to say, he is free to say," he added.
Asaram has been booked under Sections 376, 342, 506 and 509 of the IPC, Section 8 of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and Sections 23 and 26 of the Juvenile Justice Act.
Besides the summons served on Asaram Bapu, notices have also been issued to the manager of the Chhindwara gurukul in Madhya Pradesh, the hostel warden and the main caretaker of Asaram, who was present at Manai Ashram in Jodhpur on August 15, when the alleged sexual assault took place there.
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