Police arrest Indian guru over teen sex assault claim

Police have arrested
a popular Indian spiritual guru for an
alleged sexual assault on a 16-year-old
schoolgirl at a religious retreat, a local
official said Sunday.
Asaram Bapu, one of many self-styled
Hindu “godmen” who attract large
numbers of followers, was arrested
shortly after midnight on Sunday in the
central town of Indore.
The 72-year-old was then flown to the
western city of Jodhpur where the alleged
assault on the girl — whose parents were
members of his congregation — took
place, local police official Ajay Pal Lamba
said.
The guru had earlier failed to report to a
police station voluntarily, despite being
given a deadline that ended last Friday.
Deputy police commissioner in Jodhpur,
Lamba told AFP: “An opportunity was
given to Asaram Bapu for presenting his
version regarding the allegation levelled
against him by the 16-year-old girl.”
Asaram, who uses only one name, with
Bapu an honorific meaning “father”, told
officials on Friday that “he is not
physically fit and he wants more time to
appear before Jodhpur police”, Lamba
said.
“His request was turned down.”
The white-bearded guru has dismissed
the claims against him as a political
conspiracy.
The alleged attack took place on August
15 as Asaram was holding a retreat for
followers, including the victim and her
parents, police said.
He told the parents he needed to meet
their daughter alone after being told of
concerns she was possessed by evil
spirits.
Once alone in his room, the guru allegedly
assaulted the girl, who told her parents
two days later.
The family then travelled to New Delhi to
confront him. The guru refused to meet
them, prompting them to go to the police,
local reports and a police official said.
Asaram sparked a backlash in January
this year when he said a 23-year-old
student could have averted a fatal gang-
rape on a moving bus in New Delhi last
December by begging for mercy from her
attackers.
He told his devotees that blame for the
assault should not just rest with her
attackers, one of whom was sentenced to
three years in a juvenile centre Saturday,
in the first verdict to be handed down in
the case so far.
His remarks drew a chorus of
condemnation from public figures.
Asaram has some 350 ashrams or
religious retreats in India and overseas,
where he teaches yoga, meditation and
offers lessons on leading a spiritual and
peaceful existence, according to his
website.
For many Indians, “godmen” play an
integral role in daily life, offering a
pathway to enlightenment in return for
spiritual devotion and donations to their
ashrams, temples and charity projects.