Asaram Bapu
A purported audio clip of Asaram, serving a life term in a Jodhpur jail, has surfaced online in which the self-styled godman is heard assuring his devotees of his return and thanking them for not coming to Jodhpur while the verdict was being announced.
“Pehle Sharad aur Shilpi ko nikalvayenge, baad me ham aa jayenge tumhare beech. Chinta ki koi baat nahi (Will first get Sharad and Shilpi out, then I will return to be with you. There is nothing to worry),” Asaram is heard saying in the audio clip.
His aides Sharad and Shilpi were awarded 20 years each in prison.
Asaram goes on to say in the clip that he is a Gandhian and does not believe in violence. “Some opportunists are trying to become the director of ashram by defaming or inciting. But they don’t know that our devotees know that people in the ashram love bapu,” Asaram is heard saying.
The audio clip was reportedly shared on Asaram’s Facebook page and through an app dedicated to the ‘godman’. “It’s not that what has happened is final. If there are mistakes then higher courts rectify them,” Asaram is reportedly heard saying in the clip.
While the 17-minute audio clip appears to be a message from the ‘godman’ to his devotees, jail authorities have said that the conversation may have taken place when Asaram had called up a devotee in his Sabarmati ashram on Friday evening.