In a major development in the Surat sisters’ sexual assault case, the Surat police on Sunday arrested self-styled godman Asaram’s daughter Bharti and wife lakshmi, who have accepted the fact that they used to supply girls to Asaram. However, the mother-sister duo was released on bail.
During the interrogation, they accepted that the girls were sent to Asaram on pretext of ‘gurudiksha’. As both got anticipatory bail, the police couldn’t arrest them in October this year. However, they were released on bail.
Sources in the police said that it was a part of the procedure as the police want to submit chargesheet against them in coming days. It is alleged that Asaram used to exploit girls sexually during a religious ritual called ‘gurudiksha’, and used to keep them in his ashram. It is also alleged that the girls were terrified and brutally treated during this ordeal. The sisters, who filed complained against him and his son, were also meted with the same fate and threatened with dire consequences in case they would reveal the reality. “That’s the major reason, both the sisters’ maintained silence for 10 years,” said a senior cop.
Meanwhile, in another development pertaining to Asaram family, his son Narayan Sai and six others were granted remand by a Surat court up to December 27 for trying to bribe officials investigating sexual assault case against Sai and his father.
On December 19, Sai was sent to judicial custody by the court for 14 days. But the police demanded remand to investigate into bribery bid of Rs 13 crore, which was foiled by the Surat police. Sai and his close aides planned to bribe Rs 13 crore to top police officials and key Government officials who might help him to weaken the rape case against him. In his conspiracy, a Surat-based Sub-Inspector also allegedly helped him and received Rs 1 crore in the process. However, the conspiracy was unearthed by the Surat police and they arrested six people including the police inspector with cash worth Rs 5 crore.
Sai, who was declared absconder following the complained by the two sisters, was nabbed by police on December 4 from Delhi-Haryana border and brought to Surat on transfer warrant. Since then, he was in the Surat police’s custody as the court extended his custody for four times. On October 6, Surat police had registered two complaints against Asaram and his son for rape, sexual assault and illegal confinement of two Surat based sisters. Of the two complainants, the older sister filed complaint against Asaram, who is already in Jodhpur Jail for similar sexual assault case.