Surat police in Delhi to collect evidence against Narayan Sai

SURAT: Surat police have sent a team to Delhi to gather evidence against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu's son Narayan Sai, following a complaint of sexual assault registered by two sisters against the father-son duo.

"One (police) team has left for Delhi to gather evidence against Sai in connection with sexual assault case registered against him (Sai) in Jehangirpura police station here," a senior Surat police official said without giving further details.

It is not known, as of yet, how many police officials are in the team. However, sources said that the team has gone to collect vital clues related to the case against Sai, whose whereabouts are not known.

Surat police had recently registered two complaints - one against Asaram and another against Sai - of rape, sexual assault, illegal confinement and other charges as alleged by the two sisters.

The younger of the two sisters had filed a complaint against Sai, accusing him of repeated sexual assault between 2002 and 2005 when she was living in their Surat ashram.

Narayan Sai had filed for anticipatory bail in a court here, the hearing on which was adjourned yesterday after the prosecution sought time to file a detailed reply on it.

Sai and his father had also filed petitions in Gujarat High Court seeking quashing of the complaints lodged against them on the grounds of delay in the filing of the complaints and the frivolous grounds on which they were lodged.

The elder of the two sisters, in her complaint, had accused Asaram of repeated sexual assault between 1997 and 2006 during the time she had been living in his ashram on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city.

Asaram, 72, was brought to Ahmedabad on Monday evening on a transit remand from a court in Jodhpur, where he was lodged in a jail since August in another sexual assault case.

A magisterial court in Gandhinagar yesterday remanded Asaram in four-day police custody.