Crucial witness in rape case against Asaram Bapu gets security

BAREILLY: Security has been provided to Arvind Bajpai, a crucial witness in a rape case against self- styled godman Asaram Bapu, by the police four days after one of the key witness in the case was shot dead.

"Principal of Saraswati Shishu Inter College,Shahjahanpur, Arvind Bajpai has been provided security. He has been given a gunner," DIG (Bareilly range) RKS Rathore said.

Bajpai had issued Transfer Certificate (TC) of the girl, who had alleged that she was raped by Asaram, on the basis of which she was considered minor, Rathore said, adding that the principal had appeared in the court in December 2014 in the case.

According to Bajpai, he had received threats over phone before he appeared in the court in the case to give evidence.

He said, he had requested to Shahjahanpur Superintendent of Police to provide him security at that time but he could not get it.

But was given now after Kripal Singh, another key witness in the case, was shot at on July 10 and succumbed to his injuries during treatment the next day at a hospital in Bareilly.

Singh, who was a key witness and his statement in the case against Asaram recorded about three months ago, had alleged that people connected to the godman were threatening him for the last few days.

He was an employee of a transport firm, whose owner's daughter had lodged a case against 74-year-old Asaram for allegedly sexually assaulting her at his ashram near Jodhpur in Rajasthan in 2013.

Asaram has been in a jail in Jodhpur since September 2013. Two months later, he, along with his son Narayan Sai, was booked for the alleged rape of two sisters at their ashram in Gujarat's Surat.

In the last attack on witnesses in the case, Asaram's cook was shot dead in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh in January this year.

Nine witnesses have been attacked so far and three of them, including Singh, have died.

The family members of witness as also the victim girl have demanded a CBI probe into the matter.