INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Asaram was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday, nearly five years after he was arrested.Jodhpur:
After a judge pronounced him guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl, self-styled godman Asaram appeared broken and nervous, said police
officers who were present on the premises of the Jodhpur central jail where the judgement was pronounced."Asaram appeared broken
He said he will now move a higher court," Press Trust of India quoted Jodhpur Jail Superintendent Vikram Singh as saying."Asaram seemed
nervous on hearing the verdict," PTI quoted another police officer as saying, and added "Asaram was restless and kept on lumbering inside
his cell for some time".While the arguments on the quantum of sentence were on, Asaram, 77, kept asking his advocates to "do
something".Asaram was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday, nearly five years after he was arrested
He was accused of rape, and trafficking under POCSO, a stringent law on sexual crimes against children. The young girl Asaram raped was
left alone with him by her parents because Asaram's aides said he would "cure" her of evil spirits that had possessed her
She testified later that he threatened to kill her if she revealed what he had done to her.The judge said in his 453-page judgement that by
his heinous act, Asaram has not merely shattered the faith of his devotees in him but has also harmed the reputation of saints among common
people.Of the four people accused along with him, two have been found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in jail
Two others have been acquitted.With inputs from PTI
