Asaram Bapu rape case: From multiple life sentences to fine, know complete punishment in sexual assault cases

Almost a decade after a complaint was filed against him, self-styled godman Asaram Bapu has been sentenced to life imprisonment in a rape case by a court in Gujarat. The godman was convicted of his crimes on Monday, and the sentence has been announced today.

The rape case against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu was filed in 2013 by a former woman disciple, who had alleged that she was sexually assaulted by the 81-year-old godman inside his ashram on multiple occasions during her stay there.

The Gandhinagar court said that Asaram Bapu is a “habitual offender” and thus the strictest punishment should be given to him. Apart from life imprisonment, he has also been asked to pay a monetary fine to the victim and her family as compensation.

A day earlier, the court had convicted Asaram in the case registered in 2013 for raping a woman disciple, who hailed from Surat, on several occasions from 2001 to 2006 when she was living at his ashram at Motera near Ahmedabad.

Six other accused in the case, including Asaram's wife Laxmiben, their daughter, and four disciples who were accused of aiding and abetting the crime, were acquitted for want of evidence, the prosecution had said, as per PTI reports.

How much punishment is Asaram Bapu bound to serve?

Years after multiple women had come forward and claimed sexual abuse and rape by Asaram Bapu and several others who were in charge of his ashram, the self-styled godman is set to spend the rest of his life in prison after the conviction and sentencing by the court.

Apart from the life sentence and fine imposed in the Gujarat rape case which was announced on Tuesday, Asaram Bapu is currently serving a life term in a Jodhpur jail in another case of raping a minor girl at his ashram in Rajasthan in 2013.

The Gujarat court had said that Asaram should get the strictest punishment for the way he kept the victim captive, raped and sodomised her, and forced her to remain confined in the ashram.

(With PTI inputs)

READ | Asaram Bapu convicted in 2013 rape case: Know all about the case, timeline of sexual assault allegations