This godman believed raping girls was no sin for 'Brahmgyani'

Agencies
April 26, 2018

Jodhpur, Apr 26: Asaram believed that sexual exploitation of girls is not a sin for 'Brahmgyani' or a highly enlightened person, a prosecution witness had deposed to the court during the trial that ended on Wednesday in a life-long jail term to the self-styled godman.

Asaram also used to take medicines to increase sexual prowess, said prosecution witness Rahul K Sachar, a former follower of Asaram, in his deposition forming part of the 453-page judgement convicting the godman and his two accomplices for raping a minor nearly five years ago.

Sachar, who was close to Asaram and had access to his 'kutia' or abode, deposed that he had seen Asaram molesting girls in his ashrams in 2003 in Pushkar (Rajasthan), Bhiwani (Haryana) and Ahmedabad (Gujarat).

For this purpose, he used to give signals to three girls, who used to stay with him, by throwing torch light. On getting the 'signal', the girls used to take the targeted girls to his room in Kutia. He used to roam around the ashram with the three girls for selecting the targeted girls, said Sachar.

One evening in Ahmedabad, Sachar deposed, he climbed the wall of the 'kutia' and saw the godman molesting the girl. He then wrote a letter questioning why he was doing this to girls and handed over the letter to the cook. Asaram read the letter but ignored it.

The follower sent a second letter to Asaram, but he chose not to respond to it, following which he forcefully entered the 'kutia' and asked why Bapu was quiet on his questions.

The response of Asaram was, “'Brahmgiani ko ye sab karne se paap nahi lagta.' (It's not a sin for a 'Brahmgyani' or a highly enlightened person to do so).

When he posed second question how a 'Bhramgyani' can have such desires, Asaram quietly went inside and asked his men and guards to throw the follower out of the 'kutia.'

Sachar had further told the court that Asaram also used to take medicines for increasing his sexual power and used to consume opium.

Codeword for opium was 'Panched Buti'.

The prosecution witness had also disclosed to the court that the three girls staying with Asaram were also involved in abortion of the godman's victims.

After leaving Asaram's company and his ashram, Sachar was also attacked in 2004, for which he had lodged a complaint with police but no progress ever took place. He was again attacked after giving the statement in the Asaram sexual assault case.

Asaram was arrested and was lodged in judicial custody since September 2013 in the case, in which he was awarded life-long jail term by the Jodhpur special POSCO court.

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News Network
November 21,2024

netanyahu.jpg

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant over war crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The court’s Pre-Trial Chamber I issued warrants of arrest for Netanyahu and Gallant "for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest”, it confirmed in a statement Thursday.

It is the first instance in the court's 22-year history it has issued arrest warrants for Western-allied senior officials.

In its statement, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I, a panel of three judges, said it has rejected appeals by Israel challenging its jurisdiction. 

The chamber said it has decided to release the arrest warrants because "conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing", referring to Israel's ongoing onslaught on Gaza.

Netanyahu and Gallant, it said, “each bear criminal responsibility” for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” as well as “intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”

All 124 states that signed the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court, are now under an obligation to arrest the wanted individuals and hand them over to the ICC in the Hague. 

The court relies on the cooperation of member states to arrest and surrender suspects. The Netherlands' foreign minister quickly said his country was prepared to enforce the warrants while 93 nations earlier reiterated their support for the ICC.

Triestino Mariniello, a lawyer representing Palestinian victims at the ICC, called the warrants "a historic decision".

He noted that the court had endured "pressure and threats of sanctions" from the US government, but acted nonetheless.

As expected, the Tel Aviv regime rejected the rulings, with its security minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling the warrants “anti-Semitic through and through.”

The ICC said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required.

Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court. 

Israel unleashed its bloody Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023. So far, it has killed at least 43,985 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 104,092 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel faces an ongoing South Africa-led genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

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