Asaram’s son Narayan Sai arrested, Gujarat Police get one-day remand

Controversial godman Asaram Bapu`s son, Narayan Sai, who was on Wednesday arrested from the Punjab border after evading the law for nearly months, said that he was being framed in false cases.

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Self-styled godman Asaram`s son Narayan Sai was on Wednesday allowed by a Delhi court to be taken into 24-hour custody of Gujarat Police which secured his transit remand for producing him before a court in Surat in connection with a rape case. Metropolitan Magistrate Dheeraj Mor granted the transit remand for Narayan Sai and two other accused, Kaushal Thakur alias Hanuman and driver Ramesh Malhotra. A court in Surat had earlier issued a non-bailable warrant against Narayan Sai. Sai, 40, who had gone underground after two sisters from Surat filed rape complaints against his father and him. Both alleged they were raped by the duo during their stay in the ashram in the mid-2000s. Sai`s father Asaram, 72, is in Jodhpur Central Jail for sexually assaulting a girl, 16, in his Jodhpur ashram of Rajasthan in August. Asaram also played a cat-and-mouse game with the police before he was arrested from Indore September 1. "I grant transit remand of all the three accused for 24 hours which will start from 7 PM," Metropolitan Magistrate Dheeraj Mor said. However, the judge said he will sign the order sheet only if the Gujarat Police will produce the case diary and statements recorded against the accused persons. While declining the plea of 40-year-old Sai seeking transit bail to appear before concerned court in Surat, the court said there are specific allegations against them and Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Surat has already issued warrants against them. "They were conceding arrest. It was pointed out by the counsel for the accused that they were to surrender before the court, in pursuance of the CJM`s warrant or order. "The said submission cannot be separated on the face as there are specific allegations against the accused persons and further the CJM has issued warrants against them. The investigating officer has also submitted that they have already arranged the mode of exit (for transportation to Gujarat) of the accused to the concerned court. "The counsel`s arguments are not convincing. However, this court is confining itself to the transit remand," the judge said. During the hearing in the jam packed courtroom, the Gujarat Police sought 24 hours of transit remand of the three accused -- Narayan Sai and his aides Ramesh Malhotra and Kaushal Thakur -- to produce them before the concerned court in Surat. The Gujarat Police told the court that due to law and order problem, they cannot reveal as to how they will take the accused to Gujarat in 24 hours. Ending his 58-day run from the law, Sai, accused in a rape case in Surat, was arrested late Tuesday night from Haryana. "I am being framed, "Sai told his supporters when he arrived at the Ambedkar hospital for medical examination in the national capital from Punjab. Sai was arrested in a joint operation by the Gujarat, Punjab and Delhi Police. He was then taken to Delhi for interrogation. The police teams, including a special investigation team (SIT), also arrested Hanuman, Bhavika and two other accomplices of Narayan Sai, who were helping him avoid arrest for nearly two months. The Gujarat and Delhi Police had been conducting raids all over the country in the last eight weeks to nab Narayan Sai, who has been on the run since a complaint of rape was filed against him in Surat, Gujarat on October 6. The complaint was filed by a 30-year-old woman, who alleged that Narayan Sai raped her between 2001 and 2005. The raids were conducted extensively in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. Two sisters, who lived in Surat, have filed rape complaints against Asaram Bapu and Narayan Sai at different police stations in Gujarat. They alleged they were raped by the duo during their stay in the ashram in mid-2000s. Sai has been declared a "proclaimed absconder" by a Gujarat court. Sai has been booked under various sections including rape, unnatural offence, molestation, wrongful confinement, unlawful assembly, rioting armed with deadly weapon, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy of the IPC. On November 24, he had moved Gujarat High Court seeking quashing of arrest warrant issued by a Surat court last month in connection with the sexual assault case lodged against him by two Surat-based sisters. The Surat court had issued the arrest warrant in Sai`s name in connection with the FIR on October 28 under Section 70 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).