Asaram Bapu was arrested in 2013 for rape. He used to preach about abstaining from sexual desires and this was his reality. Deep Dive with Abhinav Khare brings you the story of Asaram Bapu. Just like a Bollywood movie, he moved from rags to riches only encounter a great downfall.

 

Asaram was born on April 17, 1941 in a small village in Sindh Province, now in Pakistan.  He started his journey as a Tonga Driver in Ajmer. He is said to have learnt meditation from his mother and left his home at the age of 15 to embark on his spiritual journey.

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He became a spiritual guru at the age of 23 at a place very close to Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram in Sabarmati. He slowly and steadily spread his wings and built hundreds of ashrams in India and around the world. By 2008, his empire was worth around Rs 5000 crore.

His downfall started in 2008 when the bodies of two brothers were found near his ashram with most of their organs missing. This was followed by a land grabbing case in Surat. The final nail in his coffin came when two sisters from Surat filed rape cases against him and one of them was just 16 years old.

Asaram would never approach women directing asking them to be intimate with him. He would rather do it through his confidantes, Sharatchandra, Shilpi and Shiva, who would lure girls to ‘serve’ Asaram. He behaved just like a professional criminal and left no clues behind. He never kept a mobile phone and would use his cook’s phone instead. He would not even call the victims by their names and would instead signal them with torchlights to enter his dark room.

Over the last few years after the trial started, nine witnesses in these two cases have been attacked among which, three died. However, his website still says that he is innocent and dismisses all allegations against him. Asaram’s Motera ashram holds satsangs thrice daily and still has a very huge follower base.

About Abhinav Khare

Abhinav Khare is the CEO of AsiaNetNews Network and also the host of a daily show named Deep Dive with AK. AsiaNetNews is a leading media group of south India with highly valuable brands like AsiaNetNews, Suvarna News, Kannada Prabha, IndigoMusic, Indigo Radio, MyNation, NewsFast, IndigoXP Music lounges. 

He is a proud father of two beautiful daughters and resides in Bengaluru with his loving family and a lifetime collection of books and gadgets. An avid traveller, he has already pinged more than hundred cities from 5 major continents around the globe. 

A tech entrepreneur, who is passionate about policy, technology, economy and philosophy from ancient India. His favourite pastime is to research synergy between these facets of society. He earned his qualifications from the top 10 global universities; an MS Engineering from the ETH Zurich and an MBA Finance from the London Business School.