Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, serving a life sentence for raping a minor, was today released from jail on a seven-day parole for his medical treatment.
The 83-year-old, whose real name is Asumal Sirumalani Harpalani, was arrested for raping a teenage girl in his ashram in Rajasthan's Jodhpur in 2013 and is lodged in a central jail there.
He was recently admitted to AIIMS Jodhpur after he developed some heart-related ailment and was undergoing treatment there.
Asaram Bapu Wants Ayurvedic Treatment
The Rajasthan High Court has allowed Asaram Bapu to undergo treatment for seven days at an Ayurvedic hospital in Maharashtra under police custody.
He had insisted on Ayurvedic treatment and pleaded to the court to grant him permission for treatment specifically at the Madhavbaug Multidisciplinary Cardiac Care Clinic and Hospital in Pune.
Earlier in March, he had moved the high court with the same petition seeking parole for 14 days. The court, however, rejected the plea following a report from Pune police expressing apprehensions about a possible threat to law and order during his stay at the hospital.
He was then allowed to have Ayurvedic treatment at a private hospital in Jodhpur for about a fortnight.
Asaram Bapu's Rape Case
A court in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur in April 2018 sentenced Asaram Bapu to life in prison after finding him guilty of raping a minor in his ashram in 2013.
His two accomplices were sentenced to 20 years in jail by the court in the same case.
In January 2023, he was also convicted of raping a Surat-based woman at an ashram in 2013.
