Summary:
Jodhpur, Feb 11 (PTI) The Rajasthan High Court has summoned an IPS officer for recording his evidence after an appeal challenging the conviction of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu in a rape case claimed that the victim was tutored.
A lower court had sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment in 2018 for the rape of a minor at an ashram in Jodhpur in 2013.
Jaipur’s Additional Commissioner of Police Ajay Pal Lamba has now been asked to appear on March 7 as court witness, following the plea by Asaram’s lawyers that a video recording by him might have influenced the testimony of the teenager.
Asaram has pleaded that the victim’s graphic description of the alleged crime scene - Asaram private quarters, the “kutia” - was influenced by a video recording of the place by the IPS officer when he was serving in Jodhpur.
The defence argued that it had no idea about the existence of the video clip until they found a mention of it in Lamba’s book, “Gunning for the Godman: The true story behind Asaram Bapu"s conviction”.
In his book, the then DCP (West) in Jodhpur had said that he filmed the scene of crime on his mobile phone just in case it was needed during the investigation.