From fake mark sheet to threatening witnesses, Asaram’s men tried all to save the godman

One day in Shahjahanpur in December last year, some 20,000 copies of a special magazine were distributed to residents. The magazine had stories only on the “truth” about the “injustice” done to Asaram and how the “godman” had been allegedly framed in a conspiracy by Christian missionaries and, surprisingly, the BJP.

On another occasion, Asaram’s henchmen allegedly impersonated officials and changed the age of the girl from 17 to 20 years in Anganwadi records in December 2014. They then took a photocopy of the document to show in court. However, Anganwadi workers grew suspicious when they found the record changed and consulted their seniors.

When they failed at the Anganwadi centre, Asaram’s aides allegedly made the principal of a school create a fake marksheet showing her as an adult at the time of the rape. The girl did not ever study at that school but the fake marksheet was submitted in court. The girl’s father lodged an FIR and the principal was arrested in 2015.


As the trial progressed, Asaram’s aides grew increasingly desperate and their tactics became harsher. “Apart from killing and threatening witnesses, they resorted to various tactics to coerce us into withdrawing the case…they started tampering with the records to show she was an adult so that sections under the POCSO Act could be removed from the chargesheet,” the father said.

Arvind Bajpai, principal of Saraswati Sishu Mandir where the girl studied from Class II to V, said, “Just before I was to submit the documents of the girl for her age proof, I received a .315 calibre rifle bullet with a letter titled ‘your death’. Asaram’s men tried their best to browbeat the girl’s family, but truth won in the end.’’