Asaram Penalty Flashcards
In sentencing Asaram Bapu to imprisonment for the rest of his natural life for the rape of a 16-year-old girl in 2013,
a Special Court in Jodhpur has reinvigorated (renewed /resuscitated/revive) faith in the criminal justice system.
Two aides who facilitated the crime have been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
**At a time when sexual offences against women and minor girls are being reported with benumbing regularity, a verdict of this sort reinforces public trust.
** Holding powerful and influential heads of religious institutions is not easy in this country, given the wide public support and political patronage they enjoy.
**Fortunately, neither the investigators nor the prosecutors in the case of the Asaram, seem to have been overawed by his large following or intimidated by his belligerent supporters.
High-ranking police officers received letters and phone calls threatening them and their families with dire consequences, and witnesses were killed or attacked in the course of the investigation and trial. Against this backdrop, it took courage and determination for the victim and her family to seek justice.
It is also a sign of the times that every time the final verdict is set to be delivered in a criminal case involving a self-styled godman, the State concerned has to be on high alert and massive police deployment is required to quell possible trouble by followers. After the violence and mayhem that gripped Panchkula town in the immediate aftermath of the sentencing of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh last year in a rape case, this time the police took no chances.