Asaram Bapu should be hanged, demands Gurudas Dasgupta

CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta.File photo: PTI.

CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta on Tuesday demanded strict action against Asaram Bapu after he was booked in connection with a sexual abuse case.

He said the controversial self-styled godman must be hanged.

"What Asaram Bapu has done is inhuman, he must be hanged," Dasgupta told media here.

"He should be hanged. I feel shamed myself. The anger should burst into flames. I have no idea why the Government of Rajasthan is not talking any step," he added.

The Jodhpur Police had on Monday given summons to the Asaram's representatives at his Ahmedabad ashram as Asaram wasn't personally present there.

As per the summons issued on Monday, 72-year-old Asaram has to appear before the Jodhpur Police for questioning within four days.

Asaram Bapu

The self-styled godman claimed on Sunday night that he was innocent and regards the minor as his "daughter". His spokesman has also denied the charges against him.

He 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 Chhindwara gurukul in Madhya Pradesh, hostel warden and the main caretaker of Asaram, who was present at Manai ashram in Jodhpur with him on August 15, when the alleged sexual assault took place there.

The girl was studying in Asaram's Chhindwara gurukul before she was sent to Jodhpur ashram, television reports said.

Asaram Bapu has also reportedly admitted that he met the girl at his ashram in Jodhpur, but has denied her allegations of a sexual assault. The girl is from Uttar Pradesh.