Asaram Bapu Convicted: Meet Ajay Pal Lamba, the Top Cop Who Received 2,000 Threat Letters, Phone Calls During Rape Case Probe
Lamba, a 2005-batch IPS officer, was the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Jodhpur (West), in 2013 when he was assigned the high-profile rape case involving Asaram as the accused.
Jodhpur, April 25: The conviction of tainted spiritual guru Asaram Bapu came as a major success to senior police officer Ajay Pal Lamba, who headed the rape case probe since 2013. During the course of investigation, Lamba reveals, he received over 2,000 threat letters and phone calls.
Lamba, a 2005-batch IPS officer, was the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Jodhpur (West), in 2013 when he was assigned the high-profile rape case involving Asaram as the prime accused.
The letters sent by Asaram supporters, Lamba claims, "were full of abuses". The devotees warned him of "severe consequences" if their guru ended up being convicted.
At times, Lamba said, he had to prevent his family members to step out of the house. "They threatened to kill me and eliminate my entire family," he said, adding that his daughter skipped attending school for weeks due to the intimidation.
The threat from Asaram supporters was bound to create a sense of fear as three of the key witnesses were gunned down during the same time period. One of the devotees, Karthik alias Raju Dulalchand Haldar, held for the three murders in 2015, admitted that the then Jodhpur DSP Chanchal Mishra was next on his target.
Despite the threats, Lamba remained steadfast to ensure a watertight case gets prepared against the tainted guru.
Recalling one of his most strenuous tasks, the police official says he was confronted by a 8,000-strong mob in Indore where he had went to summon Asaram on August 29, 2013.
Lamba, however, acknowledges the media and the government for supporting the police. "The media coverage against Asaram demoralised his supporters which allowed us to arrest him without any major instance of violence," he said, adding that there was neither any political pressure on the police to weaken the case during the past four years.
Asaram, 79, was today convicted under the stringent provisions of the Prevention of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court in Jodhpur declined the mercy appeal from his counsel, sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment till death.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 25, 2018 04:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).