Asaram aide sent to police custody

Shilpi, a close aide of arrested spiritual guru Asaram Bapu, was Thursday sent to police custody till Sep 30 by a court in Rajasthan's Jodhpur town, police said.

Shilpi, who surrendered in court Wednesday, was Thursday produced in the court of district and sessions judge (Jodhpur rural).

"The court remanded her in police custody till Sep 30," said a police officer.

The officer said that Shilpi was quizzed after she surrendered before the same court Wednesday and was handed over to the police.

"She has claimed innoncence and says that her mentor Asaram Bapu was being falsely framed. She said that it was a conspiracy against the spiritual guru by his enemies," police sourcestold IANS.

Shilpi is accused of being involved in the conspiracy of the sexual assault on the 16-year-old girl at Asaram's ashram near Jodhpur Aug 15.

She was the warden at a hostel of the ashram run by Asaram in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara area where the victim stayed and studied.

Asaram was arrested Sep 1, while his two other aides Prakash and Sharad Chandra surrendered before police last week. Asaram's close aide Shiva was arrested earlier for abetting the crime.

Shilpi earlier filed an anticipatory bail plea claiming innocence, but it was rejected by the court.

It is alleged that Shilpi had sent the girl from Chhindwara to Jodhpur on the pretext that an exorcism exercise needed to be carried out on her by Asaram.

Asaram has been booked under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Indian Penal Code. He has denied the allegations.

The spiritual guru is currently lodged in the Jodhpur Central Jail.