Asaram rape case verdict LIVE: Life imprisonment for Asaram, 20 years each for others convicted

This blog will track developments related to the verdict of Asaram, who has been accused of raping a teenager in 2013.

Asaram found guilty of raping teenager in 2013, awarded life term

A Jodhpur court today awarded life sentence to self-styled godman Asaram after holding him guilty of raping a teenage girl in his ashram five years ago, the second case of a powerful spiritual leader being convicted of a sexual offence in less than a year after Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim last August.

Special judge Madhusudan Sharma's verdict, which comes as the debate over sexual violence, particularly the rape of minors, intensifies across the country, was read out in the Jodhpur Central Jail where 77-year-old Asaram has been kept for over four years.

The special court for SC/ST cases convicted two other accused, Shilpi and Sharad, and acquitted two, Prakash and Shiva. (PTI)

• Security stepped up outside rape survivor’s house in Shahjahanpur 

  The security outside Shahjahanpur rape survivor’s house was tightened as self-styled godman Asaram was convicted by a Jodhpur court in 2013 rape case on Wednesday.
  
  Security personnel were deployed in civil clothes outside the teenaged girl’s residence ahead of the verdict. Additionally, CCTV cameras were installed outside the house to avoid any untoward incident.
  
  Shahjahanpur superintendent of police K B Singh said that Asaram’s ashram in Rudrapur is also under surveillance. (CNN-News18)