Indore: On Tuesday, Janaki Harpalani, the wife of Narayan Sai, welcomed the court's decision to award life term to her husband, saying the verdict has given justice to everyone who has been assaulted by Narayan Sai and his father Asaram. She added that father-son duo has always used religion to fulfil their wrong desires and have cheated those women who used to respect them as their 'guru' and father. Janaki said that Narayan Sai and Asaram have insulted the pride of women and its a big crime. She remarked that Surat court's verdict will serve as a lesson to those who use religion to sexually assault women. Janaki noted that she had full faith in the judiciary and the verdict should be seen as a victory for justice and truth.
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Here it is to be noted that Janaki made the statements shortly after a sessions court in Surat sentenced Narayan Sai to life in prison after he was convicted on charges of rape, unnatural offences, assault, criminal intimidation, and criminal conspiracy last week. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Narayan Sai. Narayan Sai, son of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, had been convicted on charges of raping two sisters in a case filed by a former lady devotee in 2013. He had been in jail since December of 2013.
However it is worth mention here that on Tuesday, Narayan Sai's lawyer argued that leniency be shown to his client and that the verdict in the Nirbhaya case cannot be applied here. The public prosecutor, however, argued that nothing short of life sentence ought to be awarded to the convict and that he should also pay a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the complainant. To be noted that Narayan Sai's close aides Ganga, Jamuna and Hanuman were awarded jail term of 10 years each and the court has also imposed a fine of Rs 5000 on each one of them. Narayan Sai was arrested by Delhi Police on December 4, 2013.
