Asaram Bapu's son Narayan Sai, accused of rape, is missing, say cops

Surat: Spiritual leader Asaram Bapu, already in jail on charges of sexually assaulting a schoolgirl, has been accused of rape, along with his son, by a pair of sisters.

One of the women, who has complained, lived in the guru's ashram or retreat at Surat in Gujarat. The police says it was unable to locate Narayan Sai and has issued a lookout notice for him; airports have been alerted to ensure he does not leave the country.

Asaram Bapu, famous for his large workshops at which he instructed thousands of followers in meditation and spirituality, was arrested more than a month ago after a schoolgirl said he sexually assaulted her at a room at his ashram in Jodhpur in Rajasthan. He has denied the charges; his son, Narayan Sai has said the girl is mentally disturbed.

The two sisters, who have now registered a case of rape against the father and son, say that the teenager's courage in seeking justice motivated them to take action.

While the one who has accused Narayan Sai of assault lived at an ashram in Surat, her sister stayed at Asaram's ashram in Ahmedabad.

Describing their allegations as a "conspiracy," Neelam Dubey, a spokesperson for Asaram Bapu said, "If they are rapists, how can there be several hundreds of women followers of Bapu?"

Two sisters accuse Asaram Bapu, his son of raping them; case registered in Surat

Ahmedabad: A fresh case of sexual assault has been registered against spiritual leader Asaram Bapu, who is in jail on similar charges. The complaint lodged by two sisters in Surat also names Asaram's son Narayan Sai.

The elder of the two sisters has alleged in her complaint that she was raped by Asaram at his Ahmedabad ashram; the younger sister has accused Narayan Sai of raping her in Surat. They say they are Asaram's followers and the incidents took place between 2002 and 2004.

Asaram, 75, was arrested in August on charges of sexually assaulting a schoolgirl and has been in prison in Jodhpur in Rajasthan since then. Shilpi, one of his key aides and the warden of Asaram's 'ashram' in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh where the alleged sexual assault took place, too has been arrested and sent to judicial custody.

In court, investigators alleged that the spiritual leader has paedophilia.

But Asaram's famous lawyer, Ram Jethmalani, alleged that the teen complainant is not under-age or younger than 18, and that she made up the charges because she likes to spend time online and watch movies and was restricted in both activities at the boarding school where she was enrolled at one of Asaram Bapu's ashrams in Madhya Pradesh.

In August, she travelled with her parents to meet him at his retreat in Jodhpur.  She has told the police that she then spent an hour with him in a room, while her parents waited outside.  He allegedly promised her family that he would exorcise her of evil spirits