NEW DELHI: Asaram Bapu’s son has defended his father in the sexual assault case and has called the victim ‘mentally unstable’, according to Times Now.
Asaram Bapu’s son was heard making the remark while addressing his followers in Gujarat.
This even as the victim’s father alleged that he had been getting threatening calls over the case.
“I was getting threats over the phone. It stopped when I told them that the calls were being recorded,” the victim’s father told reporters.
“I will pursue the case to its logical conclusion,” he said.
Earlier, the victim had said in her statement to the police that she was threatened by Asaram Bapu to remain silent about the incident.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot met Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday and briefed him about the police investigations into the case.
No body is above the law, Gehlot told reporters after the meeting.
The Rajasthan chief minister, however, evaded a direct reply when reporters asked when will the self-styled godman be arrested?
Gehlot denied that the government was going soft on Asaram and said the state police are doing their job.
The BJP, meanwhile, denied any double standards on the issue as alleged by Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh.
“Double standards of BJP on crime against women. Death penalty to others but pardon to fake God Men,” Digvijaya Singh said on microblogging site Twitter without directly referring to Asaram.
BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said the police are probing the case and the law will take its own course.
On Tuesday, Asaram had sought more time from Jodhpur police for appearing before it in connection with sexual assault charges against him.
The 72-year-old godman, who personally received the police summons here for questioning in the case, claimed he had been framed as part of a conspiracy.
“The allegations levelled against me are dirty and baseless and I have been framed as part of a conspiracy,” Asaram told reporters at his Indore ashram on Tuesday.
Asaram has been booked under sections 376, 342, 506 and 509 of the IPC, section 8 of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and sections 23 and 26 of the Juvenile Justice Act in connection with the alleged assault.
(TOI, with inputs from PTI)
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