Conviction Hindu and Hindu-derived contexts Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India · 2023

India: second life sentence for Asaram Bapu for raping a disciple at his Ahmedabad ashram

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

self-styled godman and ashram head

Organization

No organization assigned

Spiritual nexus

The complainant was an adult disciple resident at the defendant's own ashram, inside the guru-disciple relationship on which his authority over her rested.

Guru or spiritual-teacher authority
Threatened spiritual consequence

Evidence structure

Proceedings

2023-01-31 · conviction and sentence

Sessions court, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. In a case legally distinct from his 2018 Jodhpur conviction, Asaram Bapu was found guilty of repeatedly raping a woman disciple at his Ahmedabad ashram in 2013 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Documented coercion mechanisms

guru authority over a resident adult disciple

Primary record

Sources

national newspaper court reporting verdict and sentencing report 'From guru to habitual offender: Asaram gets life sentence for Ahmedabad ashram rape', ThePrint, Jan. 2023.: Reports the second life sentence and distinguishes this Ahmedabad proceeding from the earlier Jodhpur case.

Related record

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