Another rape case registered against Asaram Bapu in Gujarat

The Supreme Court of India has ordered Asaram Bapu to approach the chief justice for interim bail tomorrow after yet another case of rape case registered against the self-styled godman in Gujarat. This is the third case of rape which has been registered against Asaram Bapu who is in jail since 2013 for raping a schoolgirl in Rajasthan. The top court is also hearing a bail plea filed by Asaram Bapu over a rape case registered against him in Gujarat. In April, it had asked the Gujarat trial court to consider Asaram Bapu's case urgently and finish the trial in a time-bound manner. In 2013, Asaram and his son Narayan Sai were booked for raping two sisters at their ashram in Surat, Gujarat. The trial is pending in a court in Gandhinagar. Asaram Bapu is in prison since 2013 after the Supreme Court dismissed his bail plea in a sexual harassment case in Rajasthan. A teenager from the state had accused the godman of sexually assaulting her during celebrations in a village near his ashram in Jodhpur. In August, the top court rapped the Gujarat government for the delay in the trial in the case in Jodhpur. The Gujarat Government had earlier told the top court division bench that the rape case registered against Asaram would very likely proceed in an expeditious manner, adding that the trial would be completed within six months so the bail should not be granted to him in the case. In October last year, the top court had sought the response of the central government and five states on a plea seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged murder of children through black magic and attacks on ten witnesses in the rape cases involving Asaram.