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
Reserve-Bank-of-India_RBI_resized
RBI Proposes UIN-Based System to Simplify Foreign Offices Setup, Eases Approval Norms
NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog Proposes Presumptive Taxation Scheme for Foreign Investors to Boost Certainty and Ease of Doing Business
Bihar Government-resized-IM
Major IAS Reshuffle in Bihar Ahead of Elections: 7 Officers Transferred; Dr. Chandrashekhar Singh Appointed Secretary to CM Secretariat
bureaucracy news
IRS Chandra Madhav Singh Appointed Deputy Secretary in Consumer Affairs; IPS Shika Goel Takes Over as DG Vigilance & Enforcement in Telangana
IAS Shailja Pandey
Who Is IAS Shailja Pandey? Nainital Officer Joins Rajasthan Cadre After Transfer from Bihar
T S C Bosh
T S C Bosh Takes Charge as Director (Projects) at REC Limited | Know the Power Sector Veteran
ED _Enforcement_Directorate
ED Cracks Down on Cybercrime: ₹28,000 Crore Laundered, 106 Arrested in Nationwide Operation
REC_RO_Bhubaneswar
REC Bhubaneswar Honoured by BMC for Best CTU Adoption in Swachhata Hi Seva 2025 Campaign
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr G K Goswami IPS
Everything you ever wanted to know about e-murder, e-dacoity and data safety
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
Ravikant Meena on IFS Preparation, Optionals, and Life in Forest Service
Siddhartha Saxena UPSC CAPF
How Siddhartha Saxena Cracked UPSC CAPF AIR 326 Against All Odds
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar Live Interaction
From Cut-off Dates to Coaching & Reforms: UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar Assures Aspirants of Fairness, Transparency & a Future-Ready UPSC | UPSC@100
A Century of Service: The UPSC’s Landmark Year Begins. Chairman Ajay Kumar on UPSC’s Centennial: “Merit,...
Giriraj Parihar MPPSC 2024
From Constable to Deputy Collector: Giriraj Parihar’s 9-Year MPPSC Journey | Farmer’s Son, Brother to Five Sisters
From a jail guard to MPPSC 2024 Rank 8, Giriraj Parihar’s nine-year journey of self-study, hard work,...
Ankit MPPSC 2024 Rank 3
From Village Dreams to Deputy Collector’s Chair: Meet Ankit, MPPSC Rank 3 Hindi Medium Topper
Ankit, a Hindi-medium aspirant from Balaghat, secured Rank 3 in MPPSC 2024 and became Deputy Collector...
Social Media
World Rhino Day India
On World Rhino Day, IFS Officer Parveen Kaswan Shares Rare Insights - India Now Hosts 80% of the World’s One-Horned Rhinos
September 22 Marks Global Call for Rhino Conservation; India Holds 80% of World’s Greater One-Horned...
Parag Madhukar Dhakate
Relentless Rains Wreak Havoc in Dehradun: IFS officer PM Dhakate Warns Citizens Amid Flash Floods
Cloudbursts in Dehradun triggered flash floods. IFS officer Dr. PM Dhakate warned citizens to stay indoors...
Forest Guard Tiger Encounter
Tigers Clash in the Wild as Forest Guards Capture Rare Footage , Retired IFS Mohan Pargaien Posts Viral Video
Retired IFS officer Mohan Pargaien shares viral video of three tigers brawling in Ramnagar, as forest...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
Reserve-Bank-of-India_RBI_resized
RBI Proposes UIN-Based System to Simplify Foreign Offices Setup, Eases Approval Norms
NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog Proposes Presumptive Taxation Scheme for Foreign Investors to Boost Certainty and Ease of Doing Business
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr G K Goswami IPS
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
Siddhartha Saxena UPSC CAPF
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT