Asaram Bapu, accused of sexual assault, hit out at the media in Bhopal on Thursday
Spiritual leader Asaram Bapu, who has been accused of sexually assaulting a teenager, is likely to miss his deadline for police questioning in Rajasthan today. His lawyer has told the Jodhpur police that he cannot come for questioning due to a relative's death.
"We have given him time till the 30th (today). If he doesn't come for questioning, we will send a police team to wherever he is," said Jodhpur Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph. "We will continue our investigation."
Asaram Bapu had made a Jodhpur police team wait for eight hours on Tuesday to serve summons to him at his ashram in Indore.
Police sources say they are weighing their options before considering the next step against the 72-year-old yoga guru who claims a mass following and runs ashrams and institutions across the country.
Asaram Bapu was summoned by the police after a 16-year-old, whose parents are his disciples, complained that he had sexually assaulted her at his Jodhpur ashram.
In her statement to the police last week, the girl alleged that Asaram Bapu had threatened to kill her and her family if she reported him.
Asaram Bapu dismissed these allegations as 'bakwas' (rubbish) and said the girl was like his 'granddaughter', as her parents were his disciples. His son has described the girl as "mentally ill."
On Thursday, the self-styled godman flew to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, where several leaders of the ruling BJP have defended him since the criminal case was filed against him.
Soon after landing in Bhopal, he alleged that Congress leaders Rahul and Sonia Gandhi have orchestrated the case against him. "People are telling me that this is all happening upon the instructions of Madam and her son," he said, surrounded by policemen who gave him cover as he walked to his car.