Asaram: Sonia, Rahul conspiring against me

IANS/BhopalSpiritual guru Asaram Bapu yesterday blamed Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul for his troubles even as the family of a girl who has accused him of sexual assault alleged they were being pressured to withdraw the case.“People are telling me that ‘madam’ and her son are behind the conspiracy,” Asaram said in Bhopal, referring to Gandhi and her son. The deadline for him to appear before police in Rajasthan ends today. Asked if he was accusing the Gandhis, he replied: “I am not personally blaming anyone. I am telling you what I have heard because you (media) have been compelling me to speak.”Some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Uma Bharati, have come out in support of the religious leader, alleging he was being targeted for his views against the Congress, but the party formally washed its hands off the self-styled godman.Asked about his alleged closeness to the BJP, Asaram snapped at journalists: “No party is defending me. This is wrong. You are trying to harass me.”The incident allegedly took place on August 15 in Jodhpur, in Rajasthan, where Asaram was holding a retreat for followers, including the 16-year-old girl and her parents, police said. Asaram allegedly told the parents he needed to meet their daughter alone after being told of concerns she was possessed by evil spirits, police said. “The girl along with her parents met Asaram in Jodhpur where the accused took them to a hut on the night of August 15,” deputy police commissioner in Jodhpur, Ajay Lamba, said. “He asked her parents to recite some religious Mantras at the entrance gate and took the girl inside his room where he allegedly exploited the girl,” Lamba said. The girl told her parents two days later about the alleged attack and the family travelled to New Delhi to confront him. The guru refused to meet them, prompting them to go to the police. “After initial investigation, we issued notice to Asaram to appear before us for interrogation,” the police official said.