Jodhpur, April 25:  The Jodhpur Court on Wednesday pronounced the quantum of punishment for the self-styled 'godman' Asaram Bapu along with the two other accused in connection with the 2013 rape case.  Asaram has been given a life sentence under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, which means he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Asaram's convicted co-accused Shilpi and Sharad have been sentenced to 20 years each in jail by Jodhpur Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Court in the 2013 rape case. It must be noted that Asaram has been convicted of raping a minor girl in Manai village near Jodhpur on August 15, 2013.

Shilpi, key aide of Asaram and co-accused in a sexual assault case sentenced to 20 years of jail (Photo Credits: PTI)

Asaram has been convicted under sections 370, 376, POCSO, 120 B, 342 and 354. These sections are — Sexual Assault, Outraging a woman's modesty, POCSO, wrongful confinement and criminal conspiracy. He is also convicted of using a 'person as a slave'.

The police charge sheet against Asaram and four other co-accused Shiva, Shilpi, Sharad and Prakash was filed on November 6, 2013, under the Pocso Act, the Juvenile Justice Act and the IPC. As per reports by IANS, the court also convicted Shilpi (warden of Asaram's ashram) and Sharad, while Shiva and Prakash were acquitted in the case.

Asaram is accused of raping a teenage girl from Shahajahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, who was studying at the godman's ashram at Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh. Asaram has denied the rape charges.

To recall, Asaram was arrested on August 31, 2013, after a teenage girl alleged that she was subjected to sexual assault by the self-styled guru when she stayed at the Ashram in Mani village. The victim was a resident of Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh and was a student there.

Apprehending a threat to law and order after the verdict today,  the Centre has asked Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana governments to tighten security and deploy additional forces as the three states have a large number of followers of the 77-year-old Asaram who faces a minimum term of 10 years if convicted.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 25, 2018 02:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).