Sexual assault: Anticipatory bail plea of Narayan Sai rejected

A sessions court on Thursday dismissed the anticipatory bail application of Narayan Sai, the absconding son of self-styled godman Asaram, in connection with the sexual assault case lodged against the father-son duo by two Surat-based sisters.

Additional Sessions Judge Prakash Shah dismissed the anticipatory bail application of Sai on the grounds that the statement of the victim and the complaint lodged by her shows prima facie involvement of the accused person in the offence.

The court also observed that the evidence collected during the course of investigation cannot be disbelieved at this stage.

The delay in filing of FIR, which was cited as one of the grounds by Sai for obtaining anticipatory bail, was also struck down by the court following a detailed explanation by the prosecution.

An FIR was filed against Sai and Asaram on October 6 by Surat police at Jehangirpura police station based on the complaint of two Surat-based sisters accusing the father-son duo of sexual assault.

The younger of the two sisters had lodged a complaint against Sai, who was last week declared an absconder by the court, accusing him of repeated sexual assault between 2002 and 2005 when she was living in their Surat ashram.

After the two complaints were lodged at Jehangirpura police station in Surat, the complaint against Asaram was transferred to Chandkheda police station at Ahmedabad because the alleged incident had taken place there.

The elder of the two sisters had accused Asaram of repeated sexual assault between 1997 and 2006 during the time she had been living in his ashram on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city.

The 72-year-old Asaram was arrested in August on charges of sexually assaulting a minor girl at his Jodhpur ashram in Rajasthan and was lodged in jail there.

He was brought to city in October and interrogated extensively in connection with the sexual assault complaint here before being taken back to Jodhpur.