Two key accused and associates of controversial self-styled godman Asaram Bapu on Friday surrendered before a court here.
Sharad Chandra was in-charge of a hostel of a ‘ashram’ run by Asaram in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara, while Prakash was a cook there.
The District and Sessions court remanded them in police custody for a day. The hearing will take place on Saturday.
Both of them had moved an application in the court on Thursday seeking anticipatory bail, but, later, withdrew their pleas.
Their names figured prominently during the police probe after which they went into hiding.
‘Both of them surrendered in the court on Friday,’ defence counsel Pradeep Choudhary said.
‘We had been after them since Asaram was sent to judicial custody to further our investigation and verify evidences and facts obtained during Asaram’s interrogation. But they were constantly untraceable. Now we will interrogate them,’ said a police official.
A 16-year-old girl had lodged a complaint with the police on 20 August, accusing Asaram of sexually assaulting her at his Jodhpur ashram.
On the other hand, arguments over the anticipatory bail plea of another key co-accused Shilpi continued in Rajasthan high court on Friday.
Shilpi was the warden at Asaram’s Chindwara Ashram. She is accused of conspiracy to send the girl who was a student there to Asaram in Jodhpur.
In the arguments, which lasted about half-an-hour, while the defence maintained that there was no role of Shilpi in the case and she has already been interrogated by the police, the prosecution argued that she was the main conspirator, who had a round of telephonic communication with Asaram and Shiva between 6 and 16 August.
Sharad Chandra was in-charge of a hostel of a ‘ashram’ run by Asaram in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara, while Prakash was a cook there.
The District and Sessions court remanded them in police custody for a day. The hearing will take place on Saturday.
Both of them had moved an application in the court on Thursday seeking anticipatory bail, but, later, withdrew their pleas.
Their names figured prominently during the police probe after which they went into hiding.
‘Both of them surrendered in the court on Friday,’ defence counsel Pradeep Choudhary said.
‘We had been after them since Asaram was sent to judicial custody to further our investigation and verify evidences and facts obtained during Asaram’s interrogation. But they were constantly untraceable. Now we will interrogate them,’ said a police official.
A 16-year-old girl had lodged a complaint with the police on 20 August, accusing Asaram of sexually assaulting her at his Jodhpur ashram.
On the other hand, arguments over the anticipatory bail plea of another key co-accused Shilpi continued in Rajasthan high court on Friday.
Shilpi was the warden at Asaram’s Chindwara Ashram. She is accused of conspiracy to send the girl who was a student there to Asaram in Jodhpur.
In the arguments, which lasted about half-an-hour, while the defence maintained that there was no role of Shilpi in the case and she has already been interrogated by the police, the prosecution argued that she was the main conspirator, who had a round of telephonic communication with Asaram and Shiva between 6 and 16 August.