Asaram’s bail plea rejected

Jaipur : Rajasthan High Court Tuesday rejected the bail plea of spiritual guru Asaram Bapu, arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl, a lawyer said.

Asaram, 72, is currently lodged in the Jodhpur Central Jail since Sep 2.

District and sessions judge (rural) Monday extended his judicial custody till Oct 11 in the sexual assault case.

Asaram, 72, filed a bail application before the Jodhpur bench of the High Court Sep 13 after his earlier plea was rejected by a lower court.

“Justice Nirmaljit Kaur rejected his bail application today (Tuesday) after hearing arguments from the defence and prosecution lawyers,” said prosecution counsel Anand Purohit.

Senior counsel Ram Jethmalani had appeared for Asaram to argue in favour of bail.

On Aug 20, a 16-year-old girl lodged a police complaint accusing Asaram of sexually assaulting her at his ashram near Jodhpur.

Asaram was arrested from his ashram in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and brought to Jodhpur Sep 1.

Immediately after his arrest, Asaram filed an application for bail in the same court, which rejected the plea Sep 4.