An Indian spiritual guru who claims to have millions of followers worldwide has been sentenced to life for rape.
A court ruled that Asaram Bapu raped a 16-year-old girl in 2013 at his ashram in the northern city of Jodhpur. He is likely to appeal against the verdict in a higher court.
The guru, who is 77, has 400 ashrams around the world where he teaches meditation and yoga.
He is also on trial in another rape case in Gujarat state.
Jodhpur is on high alert because of concerns there could be violence from the guru’s supporters, reports BBC Hindi’s Priyanka Dubey who is in the city.
“Nothing can compensate for the trauma that the victim and the family have gone through,” Utsav Bains, the victim’s lawyer, told NDTV ahead of the sentencing.
The security measures come after followers of another guru, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, ran amok after he was found guilty of rape last year. The resulting violence killed 23 people.
Source : BBC
