Asaram's custody extended till Sept 30

Asaram Bapu’s judicial custody has been extended by the lower court by another 14 days till September 30. He was produced at the District and Sessions Court on Monday.

Meanwhile, Veteran criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who appeared for the self styled godman Asaram Bapu who is accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl argued on the lines that the girl is mentally unstable.

Ram Jethmalani was defending Asaram in the high court demanding bail for the godman. Asaram is accused of allegedly sexually abusing a minor girl in his Jodhpur ashram on August 15.

The charges have been denied by Asaram but the police claim that they have a water-tight case against him. The court after hearing the argument posted the next hearing of the case for September 18 and called for the case dairy.

He had also undergone a potency test which proved to be positive.

The self-styled godman was arrested on September 1 in a dramatic late night crackdown at his ashram in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and was flown to Jodhpur. His aide Shiva, who is reportedly a key witness in the case, is also in judicial custody.

He is accused of taking the girl to Asaram Bapu on August 15. The guru had allegedly told the girl’s parents that he would exorcise her of evil spirits.

The police also want to question another Asaram aide Shilpi, the warden of the hostel where the girl stayed. She had filed for an anticipatory bail, which was rejected last week but she is still at large.

In a related event, the counsel for the girl on Monday claimed to have received threats from followers of the godman.

Lawyer of the victim, Manish Vyas, claimed that the threat was issued to a friend of the victim's father asking him to withdraw the statements of his daughter against Asaram.

Referring to an audio clip, Vyas said the girl and her family continue to receive threats from Asaram's followers and demanded the police to ensure adequate security to the family, Vyas said.