Asaram Bapu gets angry at reporters as he arrives in Bhopal
Spiritual leader Asaram Bapu, accused of sexually assaulting a schoolgirl in Jodhpur earlier this month, will ignore the deadline set for him to travel to the city and meet with investigators, his son said, alleging that the guru is unwell.
But while Asaram Bapu has repeatedly declared he was not afraid of going to jail, his lawyers filed an application in the Gujarat High Court, to protect him from arrest in Rajasthan. They withdrew the plea after the Gujarat court said he should have applied for protection in a Rajasthan court.
The 72-year-old guru who teaches mediation and yoga is at his ashram in Madhya Pradesh.
The Jodhpur Police said that the self-declared "godman" has till midnight to surrender for interrogation; if he does not show up, officers said, a team will travel to Bhopal to interrogate him there.
Ajay Lamba, a senior police officer, said that a request by Asarma Bapu for an exemption for 20 days had been rejected.
Asaram Bapu's office had previously rejected the allegations as baseless.
He allegedly told the teen's parents on August 15 that he needed to meet their daughter alone after being told of concerns she was possessed by evil spirits.
"He asked her parents to recite some religious mantras at the entrance gate and took the girl inside his room where he allegedly exploited the girl," Mr Lamba told news agency AFP.
The girl told her parents two days later about the alleged attack and the family travelled to New Delhi to confront him. The guru refused to meet them, prompting them to go to the police.