Asaram convicted in rape case LIVE updates: Survivor’s family ‘relieved’ after verdict; cops say efforts paid off
April 25, 2018 by admin
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Asaram rape case verdict LIVE updates: Asaram, the 79-yr-old goman was given life imprisonment until death while two of his aides Shilpi and Sharad got twenty years in jail each. Two other accused Prakash and Shiva have been acquitted in the case.
The father of the teenager raped by Asaram expressed satisfaction over the Jodhpur court verdict convicting the self-styled godman. ”For the past four months, our family members had not been coming out (of our house)…it is satisfying that the verdict has gone against him,” he said.
The Congress shared a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Asaram, saying, “A man is known by the company he keeps.” Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar urged people to refrain from sharing Modi’s pictures with the ‘godman’, saying that we should give him “the benefit of doubt that he, like us, did not know.”
An ambulance had entered the jail premises as the arguments on quantum of sentence in the rape case against self-styled ‘godman’ Asaram concluded on Wednesday.
While Asaram’s spokesperson has said that they have faith in the judiciary, the rape survivor’s father said that they had got justice with Asaram’s conviction.
Reacting to Asaram’s conviction, Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said that it is time that we crack down on “fake gurus”. Asaram and two aides have been convicted, while two others have been acquitted by a Jodhpur court. A Jodhpur trial court has convicted self-styled godman Asaram Bapu and four others in a 2013 rape case against him. Expecting a repeat of the Panchkula violence during Dera Sacha Sauda’s leader Ram Rahim verdict, officials beefed up security in three states. Unlike the Dera Sacha Sauda sect leader’s verdict, where thousands of supporters slept on pavements, the pro-Asaram group is conspicuously invisible.
According to News18, Ram Rahim’s supporters were organised and led by wing leaders. In Asaram’s case, there does not seem to be any central leadership on the ground. The police in Jodhpur seems to be much more vigilant, combing all hotels every four house and sealing entry, exit points.
Around 1,500 police personnel are deployed around the Central Jodhpur Jail premises, railway stations, roadways bus stand and court premises. The trial court judge, who will pronounce the judgment on Wednesday, has arrived at the Jodhpur Central Jail premises.
Security has been stepped up in Jodhpur Central Jail ahead of Wednesday’s trial court verdict in the alleged rape of a teenager by self-styled godman Asaram who faces a minimum term of 10 years if convicted.
Apprehending a threat to law and order, the Centre asked Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana governments to tighten security and deploy additional forces as the three states have a large number of followers of the 77-year-old Asaram.
In a communication, the Union Home Ministry told the three states to beef up security and ensure that no violence takes place after the judgment on Wednesday. The three states were also told to deploy additional forces in sensitive places, a Home Ministry official said.
As per the directions of the Rajasthan High Court, the trial court will deliver its verdict in the Jodhpur Central Jail premises where Asaram has been lodged for the past over four years.
“We have made all arrangements for the judgment day,” DIG Jail Vikram Singh said.
“The magistrate along with court staff, Asaram and the co-accused along with the defence and prosecution counsels will remain present in the courtroom in the jail premises,” he said.
Asaram is accused of raping a teenage girl from Shahajahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, who was studying at the godman’s ashram at Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh. Asaram has denied the rape charges.
The victim had alleged that Asaram called her to his ashram in Manai area near Jodhpur and raped her on the night of 15 August, 2013.
“I have full faith in the judiciary and am confident that Asaram will be given the severest form of punishment,” said the victim’s father.
Security was also stepped up around the victim’s house in Shahajahanpur.
“The security for the victim’s family is continuously being monitored… Two more constables will stand guard outside her house in addition to the five policemen already deployed there, and a strict vigil is being maintained on all the visitors using CCTV cameras,” Superintendent of Police KB Singh said.
A vigil was also being kept outside Asaram’s ashram at Rudrapur, he said.
The Union Home Ministry’s advisory was sent in view of the fact that large-scale violence was witnessed in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh after a special court in Mohali convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in 2017.
Final arguments in the Asaram case had been completed by the special court for SC/ST cases on 7 April and the court had kept the order reserved for 25 April.
Asaram was arrested in Indore and brought to Jodhpur on 1 September, 2013. He is under judicial custody since 2 September, 2013.
The chargesheet against Asaram and four other co-accused Shiva, Shilpi, Sharad and Prakash was filed by the police on November 6, 2013 under various sections of the POSCO Act, Juvenile Justice Act and IPC. If convicted, Asaram could be jailed for a minimum of 10 years or awarded a maximum life term, according to prosecution lawyers.
Asaram is also facing a rape case in Surat in Gujarat in which the Supreme Court earlier this month gave five weeks time to the prosecution to complete the trial.
“We have imposed section 144 of CrPC in the city from 21 April and it would remain effective till 30 April. Besides this, we have been keeping a sharp eye on Asaram’s ashrams and checking all hotels and guest houses as well as the bus and railway stations,” DCP (East) Aman Deep Singh said in Jodhpur.
“We will also seal the jail on the day of judgment and would not allow anyone to get close to the jail premises,” he said.
Asaram unsuccessfully moved 12 bail applications, of which six were rejected by the trial court, three by the Rajasthan high court and three by the Supreme Court.
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Russia and China Militaries Reach ‘New Heights’ Together, Agree to Challenge US in Middle East
April 25, 2018 by admin
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Russia and China have pledged to strengthen their bilateral military and political ties as part of a strategic cooperation that challenges U.S. interests, especially to Washington’s stance on Middle East allies Syria and Iran.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met Tuesday with Air Force General Xu Qiliang, deputy vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, and other regional military officials as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the eastern city of Qingdao. As increasingly powerful Russia and China build up their clout on the world stage, they sought a more united front against the U.S., which frequently challenged their rise.
“Time changes everything,” Shoigu said, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. “But, fortunately, it does not change our relations both personally between us and between our states, and the very close, friendly relations of the heads of our states serve as a guarantee of this.”
Shoigu praised “the privileged character of intergovernmental ties” evidenced by numerous meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, both of whom secured enough national support to extend their terms last month. He said the two nations were continuing “their strategic course toward further boosting friendly and trustworthy ties in the defense sphere,” calling this relationship “an important factor for maintaining global and regional security.”
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“In contemporary global politics, our countries are in similar positions,” he told Xu.
Shoigu also praised China’s position on Syria, where Syrian President Bashar al-Assad continues to battle the remnants of an uprising by rebel and jihadi groups. The 2011 rebellion was supported and sponsored by the West, Turkey and the Gulf Arab states but was deeply opposed by Assad allies Russia and Iran. When the West sought to condemn the Syrian government’s crackdown at the United Nations Security Council in the early years of the conflict, China joined Russia in vetoing resolutions targeting Assad.
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As fundamentalist organizations such as the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) began to dominate the fight, the focus switched to defeating the jihadi forces, and both the U.S. and Russia staged military interventions. ISIS has since lost at least 90 percent of its territory in both Iraq and Syria, and the rivalry between the U.S., and Russia has again risen to the forefront of the issue.
The U.S. and its allies have accused Assad of using chemical weapons in rebel-held territory, and President Donald Trump has twice ordered missile strikes against Syrian government facilities. The U.K. and France joined in the latest and most intense round earlier this month, despite warnings not only from Russia and Iran, but China as well, all of whom doubt Assad’s role in alleged toxic gas attacks. China has also joined Russia, Iran and other countries in investing in the war-torn country’s reconstruction.
“I am grateful to you for the support you have provided to us at the United Nations Security Council meeting dedicated to the missile attack on Syria. It undoubtedly was a violation of all the international and humanitarian rules,” Shoigu added, describing the attack as “Western-style” in the way it occurred before an international inquiry could be conducted.
“I would also like to thank our friend China for supporting us on the Syria issue and condemning the irresponsible behavior of some Western countries that, under a false pretext, attacked a sovereign state,” he added.
In his own remarks to the Russian general, “Xu said the Sino-Russian relationship has reached new heights, thanks to a strong push by leaders from both countries. Sino-Russia bilateral relations are now at an all-time high, characterized by deepening strategic mutual trust and expanding cooperation,” the official Chinese Military Online reported. Xu also reportedly recognized “new security challenges and issues are emerging due to growing uncertainties around the world.”
As a result, “China is willing to deepen mutual support with Russia, increase comprehensive cooperation and enhance bilateral relations, especially in military relations,” Xu said, according to the state-run defense website. “China and Russia also will jointly protect the security interests of both countries and maintain regional strategic balance.”
To illustrate this point, Xi met with Shoigu as well as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The Chinese leader said Monday that “a high level of Sino-Russian relations is a precious asset of both countries,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and her stressed deepening this cooperation, as well as ties to all eight nations of the SCO.
The group was first established in 2001 and now includes China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. When asked if the alliance was attempting to forge a direct challenge to the West, Lavrov told reporters Tuesday that they “do not contain anyone; our role is to uphold the principles of international law in the political, military-political and economic areas,” according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Lavrov did emphasize that SCO countries “also maintain military cooperation” and prioritized global security, including the fight against ISIS and other designated terrorist groups. Lavrov complained that “several countries openly adopted a policy of Syria’s disintegration” and accused the U.S. going beyond its stated mission of fighting ISIS by maintaining a military presence and “creating local governments” in an attempt to challenge Assad.
After meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi the previous day, Lavrov said Russia and China would also work together to prevent the U.S. from disrupting the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was a multinational nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran. Trump has said the deal was too lenient on Iran, which received sanctions relief in exchange for promising to cut nuclear production, but the deal’s other signatories—China, Russia, France, Germany and the U.K.—have fought to keep it alive.
The U.S. military has maintained a sizeable lead over its top two competitors, Russia and China, respectively. The two Eastern powers, however, have moved to expand and modernize their own military forces in an effort to close the gap. Despite Trump and Putin’s efforts to reconcile their nations, both leaders have noted an all-time low in relations. When asked by the state-run Tass Russian News Agency, Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said Washington still valued a relationship with Moscow but saw it mainly as a competitor.
“Russia continues to be a strategic competitor. And its efforts undermine the West,” he said during a Defense Writers Group on Tuesday, according to Tass. “Relationships are important. We all understand their value,” he added. “[But] we are in a strategic competition, and I’ll just leave it at that.”
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