After being convicted for life, Asaram now wants relief

Serving a life sentence for raping a minor girl, rape convict Asaram has sent a mercy plea to the Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh. The Jodhpur Court had sentenced the rapist to life in prison on April 25 after he was found guilty for raping the minor girl in his ashram five years ago.

Singh who received Asaram’s mercy plea had sent the letter to the state home department and sought a detailed report on the plea. A per the plea, the rapist Asaram has pleaded for the dilution of his life sentence terming it to be a “gruelling” punishment citing his age.

Asaram has challenged the sentence and moved to the Rajasthan High Court on July 2. However, his plea is yet to be listed for hearing. Briefing about the plea, Superintendent of Jodhpur Central Jail Kailash Trivedi said, as NDTV reports, “We have received Asaram’s mercy plea. We have sought a report from the district administration and police on this.” The authorities are now in the process of sending the rapist’s plea to the Director General (Jail) of Rajasthan.

The case in which rapist Asaram has been convicted states that he had raped a 16-year-old girl by calling her to his ashram in the Manai area near Jodhpur and raped her on the night of August 15, 2013. She was studying at one of Asaram’s ashram in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh.

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