File pic: Asaram Bapu, accused of sexual assault, outside Jodhpur court
Spiritual leader Asaram Bapu, who is in jail over allegations of sexually assaulting a schoolgirl, may face more trouble with one of his key aides surrendering in a Rajasthan court today.
A woman named Shilpi, who is the warden of Asaram's hostel in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, where the teen complainant stayed, surrendered in Jodhpur after her plea for bail was rejected.
The Rajasthan police say she was the one who sent the 16-year-old girl to Asaram Bapu, claiming that she needed a special exorcism ritual. Shilpi has been evading arrest for nearly a month.
The 75-year-old guru has been in jail since September 2.
Asaram Bapu's personal attendant Shiva, who is also in jail, has reportedly told the police that the self-styled godman regularly met women for what he called healing sessions in a room described as his "meditation hut".
In court, his lawyer Ram Jethmalani has argued that the girl who says the religious preacher attacked her at his ashram in Jodhpur is mentally unfit. The prosecution said Mr Jethmalani, one of the country's most eminent advocates, offered no evidence to back his claim.
The girl and her family have accused the preacher of threatening to hurt them if they reported the alleged assault to the police.
The victim's father has also alleged death threats from the spiritual guru's followers and has given alleged phone recordings of the threats to his lawyer.
The guru has denied the girl's charges but his aides have told the police that on August 15, he spent an hour alone with her after telling her parents that he would exorcize evil spirits that had possessed her.