Jodhpur, April 24: The special court set up under the Scheduled Caste and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in Jodhpur will deliver its verdict tomorrow in the rape case involving tainted spiritual guru Asaram Bapu as the accused.

As a precautionary measure, the Jodhpur police has imposed Section 144 of CrPC which prevents the unlawful gathering of four or more people. The prohibitory orders will remain in place till April 30.

Police Commissioner Ashok Rathore said any adverse fallout emerging from the case verdict would be averted as the ruling would be delivered inside the jail premises. "We are glad the court accepted our request to deliver the judgement from inside the prison," he said.

The Rajasthan police is also working in close coordination with their counterparts in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in a bid to prevent the galvanisation of Asaram supporters from the neighbouring states.

Timeline of the rape case which keeps Jodhpur on the edge:

- The victim, a minor from Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur, was sent to Asaram's ashram on the outskirts of Jodhpur in August, 2013, by her parents in a bid to "free her from evil spirits".

- The teenager was allegedly raped on August 13, 2013.

- Seven days later, on August 20, the victim narrated the ordeal to her father, who filed a police complaint. The FIR was first registered in Delhi and later transferred to the Jodhpur police.

- Asaram, on hearing the rape charge levelled against him, went absconding. However, he was apprehended on August 31 from Indore.

- The guru's supporters raised hue and cry outside the Jodhpur central jail where Asaram was lodged. The devotees claimed Asaram was being targeted by the then incumbent Congress-led governments in the state and the Centre.

- The chargesheet against Asaram was filed in the first-week of November 2013. Apart from booking him under the relevant sections of POCSO Act and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the self-styled preacher was also charged under IPC sections 342 (for wrongful confinement), 354A (sexual harassment), 370(4) (trafficking), 376(2)f (rape on a woman when she is under twelve years of age), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509/34 and 120(B) (criminal conspiracy).

- The trial against Asaram began in February 2014. The guru was represented by one of the topmost lawyers of the nation, Ram Jethmalani.

- A total of three key witnesses in the case have been killed allegedly by Asaram supporters, whereas, four others have turned hostile.

- In January 2015, Akhil Gupta, one of Asaram's cook who had turned into a witness, was shot dead outside his house in UP's Muzaffarnagar. In the subsequent month - February 2015 - another witness, Rahul K Sachan, was stabbed outside the court.

- In May 2015, witness Mahendra Chawla, who had served as Asaram's personal assistant between 2001 to 2005, was shot dead at his house in Panipat.

- In July 2015, one of the top witnesses for the prosecution, Kripal Singh, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne gunmen in Shahjahanpur.

- The hearing in the case was concluded by the Jodhpur court on April 7, 2018. The bench led by Special Judge Madhu Sudan Sharma is scheduled to announce its verdict on Wednesday. The maximum punishment which Asaram could be awarded, if found guilty, would be 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

The ramifications of the judgement is also feared to be felt in Shahjahanpur, where the victim resides. The region is known for housing a considerable number of Asaram supporters. Considering the threat posed to the victim and her kin, the police has escalated their security cover.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 24, 2018 04:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).