https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Asaram bragged about political connection during arrest recounts IPS officer in new book

IPS officer Ajay Pal Lamba's book titled “Gunning for the GODMAN - The true story behind Asaram Bapu's conviction”, recalls the hardship and challenges he and his team faced during the investigation and the trial.
Indian Masterminds Stories

Self-styled ‘godman’ Asaram, sentenced to life in prison for raping a teenager, bragged about his political connections while being taken into custody and told an officer he would receive orders from his superiors to not carry out the arrest, says an IPS officer who led the investigation.
     The 79-year-old was arrested in August 2013 and convicted almost five years later in April 2018 on charges of raping a teen student of his ashram.
        “Taking Asaram Bapu into custody was a challenging task and the toughest part of the entire course of the case. Despite all odds, it was done,” says Ajay Pal Lamba, who was posted as Deputy Commissioner of Police-West in Jodhpur in 2013. Lamba has penned his experience of the case in a book titled “Gunning for the GODMAN – The true story behind Asaram Bapu’s conviction”, recalling the hardship and challenges he and his team faced during the investigation and the trial.

Author: Ajay Pal Lamba, IPS

The book, co-authored by Sanjeev Mathur and published by HarperCollins Publishers, will be released virtually on September 5.
    Lamba said he, his team members, witnesses and even lawyers received threats during the investigation and trial.
    Asaram was arrested by a team from the Jodhpur police from his ashram in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on August 31, 2013 and taken to Jodhpur via Delhi by air.
        According to Lamba, it was while the team was talking to Asaram in his ashram before his arrest that he boasted about his political connections and told a police officer, “Soon you will receive orders from your superiors that you cannot arrest me.”  
    However, Asaram panicked when the officer switched off his mobile phone in front of him, Lamba, a 2005-batch IPS office presently posted as Additional Commissioner of Police in Jaipur, recounted.
       Two members of the investigation team were deputed to stay at the ashram as Asaram’s followers to collect evidence. 
        “It was discovered that he had some kind of sex addiction and demanded a new nubile girl every night,” Lamba writes in the book, referring to the claim of some individuals associated with Asaram.
         The girls were made to believe by Asaram’s aides that they were sick and must “surrender” to him if they wanted to be cured, he said. 
        It is claimed that members of Asaram’s ashram management, especially the matron of the Chhindwara ashram, Shilpi, were always on the lookout for underage and attractive girls studying or staying at the ashram who could be brainwashed into believing that the accused was “god incarnate and that they were his chosen ones”.
        “The girls were made to feel inadequate or sick, and convinced that their cure lay with Baba Asaram. They were told that they must surrender to him totally if they wanted to be remedied of their ills,” Lamba said. 
         He said the young girls, usually from poor families, were either “paid off” later or threatened with dire consequences if they say a word about their ordeal. 
         “There was parental pressure too. They were, therefore, not in favour of taking any legal action against the accused,” he said in the book.
          Lamba narrated in detail his experience of questioning Asaram when he was brought to Jodhpur and lodged in a police guest house. 
     “’Baba, tu yeh bata ki yeh sab kya kar dala tune. Jaldi bata.’ I asked him in a gruff voice, with contempt in my eyes. (Baba, you tell me why you did all this. Tell me quickly) What he said in response astounded me. ‘Galti kar di… galti kar di maine (I committed a mistake… I committed a mistake’.” 
         “That was exactly where I wanted him. My plan had succeeded. I knew that it would now be easy to make him confess to his crime and to corroborate the allegations against him,” the officer said in the book.
          Lamba said he meticulously selected every single member in his team, those with expertise in areas such as forensic science, legal matters and interrogation. They comprised both young and experienced officers with high integrity and reliability to be able to take the case to a logical conclusion.     He claimed that Gujarat police, which was investigating the case against Asaram’s son Narayan Sai, had revealed that an accused in that case planned to kill woman officer Chanchal by blowing up her vehicle with an IED. 
    “In the wake of such disclosures, Chanchal had to be provided additional armed guards round the clock even when she was later transferred to Bhilwara district,” he said. 
    The officer said that he held regular media briefings to make sure that no speculative news was generated. This proved to be a crucial factor, particularly during his arrest. 
    “I decided to write the book to give a first-hand account of the investigation and the challenges in the high-profile case. It tells about the importance of planning, teamwork, leadership qualities which are essential to execute a task,” he said.
       Asaram was sentenced to life in jail till natural death by a Jodhpur court on April 25, 2018. The court awarded 20 years imprisonment to two co-accused, including Chhindwara ashram matron Shilpi, and acquitted two others, Shiva and Prakash.
        The teenaged victim from Shahajahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, who was studying at Asaram ashram, had accused him of raping her on the night of August 15, 2013.     An FIR was lodged with a police station in Delhi and was transferred to Jodhpur for investigation.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS)
Historic First: IAS Officer V. Srinivas Elected President of IIAS, Defeats Austria’s Nominee in Landmark Vote - Know More About It
UPSC Latest IAS IPS IFS
Puja Khedkar Impact: UPSC’s New Aadhaar-Enabled Portal Sees Overwhelming Response, 92% Applicants Opt for Biometric Authentication
Odisha govt_resized
Odisha: 1 IPS & 1 OPS Officer Transferred, 2 Districts Get New SP, Manoj Kumar Rout Made SP, Bhadrak
Karnataka-govt-announces-state-wide-close-down-for-14-days
RCB Felicitation Stampede Fallout: 5 Senior Officers Suspended, IPS Seemanth Singh Appointed New Bengaluru Police Commissioner
NALCO
NALCO Refutes Reports of Capex Deferral, Confirms Rs 30,000 Crore Smelter Expansion is on Track - Know the Matter
Northern-Coalfields-Limited-NCL-Resized
NCL Signs MoU to Support Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities in Singrauli - All Details Inside
Ruchika Chauhan IAS
Leading By Example: Gwalior DC Ruchika Chauhan Arrives At Her Office Boarding An E-Rickshaw! Delivers A Strong Message On World Environment Day
KVIC Khadi and Village Industries
KVIC Disburses Rs. 300 Crore Margin Money Subsidy Under PMEGP to Boost Self-Employment - Details Inside
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Monika Singh
Monika Singh’s Life Beyond the Bureaucracy | Video Interview 
IAS Tushar G Nikhare
Modernising Governance: A Digital Transformation in Gangtok
IMG-20250523-WA0036
Abhishek Singh's SECRET: Vipassana, Anthropology & Smart Answer Writing | Video Interview 
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Divyanshu Pal Nagar IFS
5 Years, 5 Mains, 4 Interviews: How Divyanshu Pal Nagar Stumbled in CSE, Triumphed in IFS - A Lesson for Every Aspirant
Divyanshu Pal Nagar’s inspiring five-year UPSC journey shows how perseverance, disciplined self-study,...
ANUBHAV SINGH UPSC IFS 2024
9 Years, 8 Attempts, 7 Failures: How Anubhav Singh Cracked UPSC IFS 2024 with AIR 3 Against All Odds | Exclusive
Anubhav Singh’s inspiring journey to UPSC IFS Rank 3 showcases relentless perseverance, strategic preparation,...
Jogender Sihag
“I Cleared UPSC, But My Grandfather isn’t Here to Hear it,” Jogender Sihag, AIR 521, UPSC CSE 2024
"Life is short; make the most of it, whether in civil service or any other field. Just have a clear vision...
Social Media
Tiger jump Sundarban
Stunning Viral Video Shows Royal Bengal Tiger Making Spectacular 30-Foot Leap Across River in Sunderbans - See It Here
Retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda shared the clip online, which quickly went...
shubham kumar ias marriage
IAS Topper Weds BPSC Topper: Shubham Kumar Marries IRS Officer Priyangi Mehta in Patna; Wedding Video Goes Viral
Topper Couple Alert: Shubham Kumar, Priyangi Mehta’s Wedding Grabs Spotlight in Bihar
parveen kaswan elephant
Elephant Outsmarts Electric Fence! IFS Parveen Kaswan Shares Incredible Video!
In the now-viral 51-second clip, the intelligent giant approaches a wooden pole supporting high-voltage...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS)
Historic First: IAS Officer V. Srinivas Elected President of IIAS, Defeats Austria’s Nominee in Landmark Vote - Know More About It
UPSC Latest IAS IPS IFS
Puja Khedkar Impact: UPSC’s New Aadhaar-Enabled Portal Sees Overwhelming Response, 92% Applicants Opt for Biometric Authentication
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Monika Singh
IAS Tushar G Nikhare
IMG-20250523-WA0036
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT