Jodhpur Police on Friday said they are cross-checking and authenticating the evidence provided by Shiva, a close associate of self proclaimed godman Asaram Bapu, during an interrogation session related to the sexual assault case.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Ajay Pal Lamba said Friday that the Shiva had given some insights related to the case, which were being verified.
"During the questioning session with Asaram Bapu's aide, Shiva, whatever information is revealed, a thorough investigation is carried out to check for its validity," he said.
Lamba also added a probe is going on at Asaram Bapu's ashram in Ahmedabad to collect more evidence.
"Since the time the case was registered, till now Jodhpur police has been constantly sending its teams to the Ahmedabad ashram to check for evidence if any. Our teams are constantly visiting the place to make sure if there is any oral evidence or the evidence is in the form of a document, we are making sure all of them are collected for the case," he added.
A local court on Thursday granted Jodhpur Police three days additional custody of Shiva, a close associate of self-proclaimed Godman Asaram Bapu, to gather corroborative evidence in connection with a sexual assault case.
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Earlier, Shiva said that the accusations of sexual assault levelled against Asaram Bapu are baseless, as he surrendered before the police in Jodhpur on August 31.
A Jodhpur Court on Wednesday rejected Asaram's bail plea.
"Everyone is equal in the eyes of law. It has been proven," said Public Prosecutor Anand Purohit.
The court had earlier sent him to judicial custody till September 15.
Asaram, 72, who was arrested from his ashram in Indore in Madhya Pradesh last week, had sought bail claiming that police erred in booking him under rape charge, which is non-bailable.
On Tuesday, Asaram created ruckus in jail over a demand for gangajal or holy Ganga water. The controversial godman reportedly claimed that he would not accept water without a drop from his bottle carrying gangajal. This was, however, refused.
According to reports, Asaram recently cleared a potency test conducted on him by a team of three doctors, who established that he was not impotent as opposed to his claims. The test conducted revealed that he was indeed potent and capable of committing rape.
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.
Besides the summons served on Asaram Bapu, notices have also been issued to the manager of the Chhindwara gurukul in Madhya Pradesh, the hostel warden and the main caretaker of Asaram, who was present at Manai Ashram in Jodhpur on August 15, when the alleged sexual assault took place there.
