Asaram Bapu in Jodhpur jail
The police clashed with supporters of religious preacher Asaram Bapu at the prison in Jodhpur where he was taken today after a local court assigned him to judicial custody so that he can be interrogated about his alleged sexual assault on a school girl earlier this month.
The police used batons to break up a crowd of about 200 protesters.
The 75-year-old guru was produced in court wearing a white
dhoti and
kurta and a red skull cap before he was moved to prison, where he is reportedly being kept in a separate cell.
This morning, the police said that medical tests have confirmed that Asaram Bapu is not unwell, as he has claimed, and is capable of sexual assault - he cleared a "potency test", said sources.
The spiritual leader who teaches yoga and meditation was arrested from his
ashram in Indore on Saturday night and flown to Jodhpur. He says he is innocent and denies that on August 15, he spent nearly an hour alone with the 16-year-old complainant at his ashram in Jodhpur.
He has told the police that instead, he met the girl and her family as part of the massive crowd that gathered on August 15 for his 'satsang' or religious discourse.