Asaram attends trial in another rape case through video conference

Self-styled godman Asaram,  who is serving a life term in the Jodhpur central jail for raping a minor girl, attended the trial in another rape case against him through a video conference on Friday.

A woman from Surat had lodged a complaint of rape against him in Gandhinagar in 2013. Cross-examination of prosecution witnesses in the case is going on before a sessions court in the city.

Asaram was recently convicted to life imprisonment by a Rajasthan court and is lodged in Jodhpur jail. He appeared before the court of additional sessions judge Rashida Vora here through video conference, his lawyer Chandrakant Gupta said.

The court has examined 30 witnesses so far. The entire trial is being conducted in-camera, owing to possible threat to the lives of witnesses. 

The woman alleged that Asaram raped her repeatedly several times when she was living in his ashram in Motera area of Ahmedabad between 1997 and 2006. The charge sheet also names Asaram's wife Lakshmiben, daughter Bharti Devi and four women followers for alleged abetment of rape. The charges were framed in March 2016.

The judge adjourned the hearing in the case to May 14, Gupta said.

(With inputs from agencies)