UPDATES: Asaram Bapu awarded life term for raping minor devotee in 2013

Asaram was arrested in 2013 after a minor girl from UP's Saharanpur had reported sexual assault by the Godman in his ashram during her stay in Manai village on the outskirts of Jodhpur.

The self-styled Godman Asaram was on Wednesday convicted by Jodhpur court in the 2013 rape case of a teenager.

Asaram was booked under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the SC/ST Act and was denied bail by the Supreme Court. 

UPDATES:

12:30 PM: Jodhpur court sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment for raping minor devotee and Shilpi and Sharad, two aids of the self-styled godman, get 20 years jail sentence each, reports ANI.

12: 20 PM: The Gujarat police has stepped up security outside two of the prominent ashrams of self-styled godman Asaram in the state.

12: 17 PM: From the high pedestal of a preacher having thousands of followers, self-styled godman Asaram's fall from grace came after he was embroiled in the rape case of a minor girl. [READ ASARAM'S PROFILE HERE]

11: 30 AM:

The time has come when people should be able to differentiate between the actual saints and the frauds, as this creates a bad image of the country in the international arena: Ashok Gehlot, Congress on #Asaram convicted in rape case pic.twitter.com/rTFZW3WgdT

— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2018

10: 57 AM: "Asaram is convicted, we have got justice. I want to thank everyone who supported us in this fight. Now I hope he will get strict punishment. I also hope the witnesses who were murdered or kidnapped get justice",  says the father of Shahjahanpur victim.

10:45 AM: Three accused including Asaram convicted, two other accused acquitted by Jodhpur Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Court.

We will discuss with our legal team and then decide our future course of action. We have confidence in our judiciary: Neelam Dubey,Asaram spokesperson on Asaram convicted pic.twitter.com/3LIcyuSAmU

— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2018

9: 45 AM: Security has been provided to the family of Akhil Gupta, a witness against Asaram Bapu, who was shot dead in January 2015, Uttar Pradesh police said.

9: 30 AM:

#Visuals from Ahmedabad: Followers of #Asaram praying ahead of #AsaramCaseVerdict. #Gujarat pic.twitter.com/Qn96T8mNhz

— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2018

9: 15 AM: Mahendra Chawla, Asaram's former aide says, "Trust judicary and am confident that Asaram will be convicted. I request judiciary that such rapists should be hanged. Though I have security, I request Centre for additional security, my life like other witnesses is constantly under threat."

9: 12 AM: Prayers are underway at the Godman's ashrams in Varanasi and Bhopal.

Madhya Pradesh: Prayers underway at Asaram's ashram in Bhopal. #AsaramCaseVerdict pic.twitter.com/t9BM4Beo2k

— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2018

8: 15 AM: A division bench of the Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday ordered the trial court to deliver its verdict inside the jail premises.

8: 10 AM: While the judge has already reached the jail premises, one follower of the self-styled Godman, who reached the prison with a garland, was detained by the cops in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

8: 00 AM: Asaram was booked under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the SC/ST Act and was denied bail by the Supreme Court. He can face a maximum of 10 years of jail if found guilty.

7:55 AM: Asaram was arrested in 2013 after a minor girl from UP's Saharanpur had reported sexual assault by the Godman in his ashram during her stay in Manai village on the outskirts of Jodhpur.

(With Inputs from IANS and ANI)