Surat court rejects Narayan Sai`s anticipatory bail plea

Zee Media Bureau

Surat: A sessions court here on Thursday rejected the anticipatory bail application of Narayan Sai, the absconding son of self-styled godman Asaram, in connection with the sexual assault case lodged against the father-son duo by two Surat-based sisters. Additional Sessions Judge Prakash Shah dismissed the anticipatory bail application of Sai on the grounds that the statement of the victim and the complaint lodged by her shows prima facie involvement of the accused prson in the offence. The court also observed that the evidence collected during the course of investigation cannot be disbelieved at this stage. The delay in filing of FIR, which was cited as one of the grounds by Sai for obtaining anticipatory bail, was also struck down by the court following a detailed explanation by the prosecution. An FIR was filed against Sai and Asaram on October 6 by Surat police at Jehangirpura police station based on the complaint of two Surat-based sisters accusing the father-son duo of sexual assault. Asaram`s son has been evading since a complaint of rape was filed against him and his father. Surat Police had registered complaints of rape, sexual assault, illegal confinement and other charges against the father-son duo. Despite several warnings from the honourable courts, Sai still continues to evade law and the authorities are still clueless about his whereabouts. As per reports, the Gujarat police have so far raided as many as eleven locations in the past few weeks in search of Narayan Sai, but the self-styled godman has managed to give officials a slip every time they reached closer to arrest him. Among the 11 locations where Narayan Sai was reportedly traced are - Jaipur, Agra, Delhi, Haryana, Chindwara, MP-Rajasthan border, Sheopur, Dhar, Ratlam, Shivani and Dharamshala. Meanwhile, Surat police today slapped a notice on Asaram`s ashram here asking it to surrender at the earliest.