Jodhpur, May 28 (IANS) Asaram surrendered at Jodhpur Central Jail on Thursday after the Rajasthan High Court upheld his life sentence in the 2013 minor rape case and cancelled his interim bail.

Asaram arrived in Jodhpur late in the afternoon, drawing a large gathering of supporters to the airport.

Amid tight security arrangements and crowd-control measures, he waved at supporters and offered blessings from inside his vehicle before leaving the airport.

Following his arrival, Asaram proceeded to his ashram in Pal village and later visited AIIMS Jodhpur for a medical examination.

He surrendered at Jodhpur Central Jail at approximately 5 p.m.

A large crowd of supporters gathered at Jodhpur Airport, creating a challenging situation for the police personnel deployed there.

Security officials were seen managing and pushing back supporters as Asaram exited the airport premises.

The surrender follows Wednesday’s ruling by the Rajasthan High Court, which rejected Asaram’s appeal against his conviction and revoked the interim bail previously granted to him.

At the time of the verdict, Asaram was in Haridwar, Uttarakhand.

Following the court’s order and the immediate issuance of an arrest warrant, he travelled by road to Delhi late on Wednesday night before proceeding to Jodhpur.

Supporters claimed that his health deteriorated during the journey and that he underwent medical treatment at AIIMS Delhi.

Sources indicated that efforts were being considered to seek relief on medical grounds and defer surrender until an appeal could be made before the Supreme Court.

However, following legal consultations, the plan was reportedly dropped.

A division bench comprising Justice Arun Monga and Justice Yogendra Kumar Purohit delivered the detailed judgment, fully upholding the lower court’s order of life imprisonment, which requires imprisonment for the remainder of the convict’s natural life.

In its observations, the court stated: “The accused’s imprisonment has walls, but the mental trauma and lifelong suffering inflicted on the victim has no walls.”

The bench also ordered the cancellation of the interim bail and directed the immediate issuance of an arrest warrant.

In the same judgment, the High Court granted relief to co-accused hostel warden Shilpi and Gurukul director Sharat Chandra, acquitting both of all charges.

The court held that sufficient evidence of their involvement in any criminal conspiracy was not established.

The case dates back to August 2013, when allegations emerged regarding the sexual assault of a minor student inside a hut at Manai Ashram in Jodhpur.

A lower court convicted Asaram and sentenced him to life imprisonment in April 2018.

–IANS

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