Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, who was sentenced to life imprisonment on April 25, 2018, by a Jodhpur court after he was found guilty for raping a minor girl, has sent a mercy plea to the governor of Rajasthan seeking dilution of his life sentence.
Governor Kalyan Singh, who received Asaram’s mercy plea has sent it to the home department seeking a detailed report on the plea.
The home department then forwarded the plea to the Jodhpur Central Jail administration, which, in turn, has sought a report from the district administration and police.
“We have received Asaram's mercy plea. We have sought a report from the district administration and police on this mercy plea," Superintendent of Jodhpur Central Jail Kailash Trivedi said.
After receipt of the report, the jail administration will send it to the Director General (Jail) of Rajasthan.
Asaram has pleaded in his mercy plea for dilution in his life sentence terming it to be a "gruelling" punishment and citing his age.
On July 2, 2018, Asaram had moved the Rajasthan High Court challenging the sentence but the petition is yet to be listed for hearing.
The 16-year-old girl had said in her complaint that Asaram had called her to his ashram in the Manai area near Jodhpur and raped her on the night of August 15, 2013.
The teenager from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh was studying at Asaram's ashram in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh.
