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The Cult Dossier · No. 090 · Eastern-Derived

Asaram Bapu's ashrams

Sant Shri Asaramji Ashram

1972 – present · Ahmedabad, Gujarat; nationwide India

X. RUSSIA, KOREA AND SOUTH ASIA

Fully religious — Hindu guru movement

Who led it

ASARAM BAPU (born Asumal Sirumalani Harpalani, 1941) and his son NARAYAN SAI.

What it worshipped and taught

A devotional Hindu teaching combined with an enormous ashram network (claimed 400+ ashrams) and a large publishing and product business. Convictions established that girls were brought to the guru's quarters on the pretext of exorcising spirits.

Who was in it

Asaram Bapu; Narayan Sai; the 16-year-old Shahjahanpur victim of 2013; the two Surat sisters; NINE WITNESSES IN THE CASE WHO WERE ATTACKED, THREE OF WHOM WERE KILLED — including Akhil Gupta, shot in 2015, and Rahul Sachan, stabbed in court in 2014 and later disappeared.

How it ended, or where it stands

Both leaders convicted and sentenced to life and both remain under sentence. Asaram was granted a TWENTY-DAY PAROLE in the Rajasthan case in August 2026 — his first in thirteen years — but Gujarat refused him temporary bail in September, so it is not a release. The ashram network has continued to operate throughout.

The dead

3 prosecution witnesses murdered; nine attacked in total

Of note

The witness killings are the notable feature — the mechanism of protection was not doctrine but violence against the justice system itself.

Its timeline

  1. 1972 Establishes his first ashram in Ahmedabad.
  2. 2008 Two boys are found dead at the Motera ashram; the Gujarat inquiry raises questions never fully resolved.
  3. 20 August 2013 A 16-year-old girl from Shahjahanpur alleges rape at his Jodhpur ashram.
  4. 31 August 2013 Arrested.
  5. 2013–2018 Nine prosecution witnesses attacked; three killed. The case becomes a study in witness intimidation.
  6. 25 APRIL 2018 CONVICTED of the rape of a minor; sentenced to life imprisonment.
  7. APRIL 2019 NARAYAN SAI convicted separately of raping a woman in Surat and sentenced on 30 April to life.
  8. 31 January 2023 Asaram convicted in a second rape case at Gandhinagar; a second life sentence.
  9. 7 JANUARY 2025 THE SUPREME COURT GRANTS HIM INTERIM BAIL on medical grounds until 31 March 2025.
  10. 3 AUGUST 2026 THE RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT GRANTS ASARAM A TWENTY-DAY REGULAR PAROLE — his first — in the Jodhpur case, overruling the parole committee and the state, on a personal bond of 50,000 rupees and two sureties of 25,000 each. He had served 13 years, 1 month and 24 days.
  11. AUGUST 2026 THE SUPREME COURT DECLINES MEDICAL BAIL. An AIIMS board advised round-the-clock monitoring but not hospitalisation; the court allows a TRAINED CARETAKER INSIDE JAIL, with liberty to return if his condition worsens.
  12. 8 SEPTEMBER 2026 THE GUJARAT HIGH COURT REFUSES HIM TWENTY DAYS' TEMPORARY BAIL in the Gandhinagar case, pointing to the Supreme Court's order. Because he is also held on that conviction, the Rajasthan parole alone does not free him.

Its people

Asaram Bapu

Asumal Sirumalani Harpalani; Asaram Bapu

Founder, Sant Shri Asaramji Ashram · born 17 April 1941 · active 1972–2013

Built a network of a claimed 400-plus ashrams across India with a vast publishing and consumer-products arm, and drew crowds and political patronage at the highest level. His convictions established that girls were brought to his quarters on the pretext of exorcising spirits. The defining feature of his case is not the crime but the campaign that followed it: NINE PROSECUTION WITNESSES WERE ATTACKED AND THREE WERE KILLED, including Akhil Gupta, shot in 2015, and Rahul Sachan, stabbed inside a courtroom in 2014 and later disappeared. The mechanism of protection was not doctrine or wealth but sustained violence against the justice system itself.

Before the law. CONVICTED TWICE OF RAPE (2018 Jodhpur, 2023 Gandhinagar), serving two life sentences. Granted interim medical bail January 2025; refused medical bail August 2026 but allowed a personal caretaker in custody; GRANTED FIRST PAROLE by the Rajasthan High Court on 3 August 2026 in the Jodhpur case; REFUSED TEMPORARY BAIL by the Gujarat High Court on 8 September 2026 in the Gandhinagar case.

Where things stand. AGED 85, held under two life sentences. In August 2026 he received his FIRST REGULAR PAROLE — TWENTY DAYS, on bond — after 13 years, 1 month and 24 days served. THIS IS NOT A RELEASE FROM SENTENCE, and an earlier version of this file implied otherwise. Because he is also held on the Gujarat conviction, and Gujarat refused him temporary bail on 8 September 2026, the parole alone does not free him. His ashram network continues to operate. LIVE AND MOVING FILE — re-verify before relying on it.

  1. 1972 Establishes his first ashram in Ahmedabad.
  2. 2008 Two boys are found dead at the Motera ashram; the Gujarat inquiry leaves questions unresolved.
  3. 20 August 2013 A 16-year-old girl from Shahjahanpur alleges rape at his Jodhpur ashram.
  4. 31 August 2013 Arrested. He has remained in custody almost continuously since.
  5. 2013–2018 NINE PROSECUTION WITNESSES ATTACKED; THREE KILLED.
  6. 25 APRIL 2018 CONVICTED of the rape of a minor; sentenced to LIFE IMPRISONMENT.
  7. 30 April 2019 His son NARAYAN SAI convicted separately of raping a woman in Surat; also sentenced to life.
  8. 31 January 2023 CONVICTED IN A SECOND RAPE CASE at Gandhinagar; a second life sentence.
  9. 7 JANUARY 2025 THE SUPREME COURT GRANTS INTERIM BAIL on medical grounds until 31 March 2025 (Justices M. M. Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal).
  10. AUGUST 2026 THE SUPREME COURT DECLINES MEDICAL BAIL. M. Sundresh and P. B.
  11. 3 AUGUST 2026 THE RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT GRANTS HIS FIRST REGULAR PAROLE — FOR TWENTY DAYS ONLY, NOT A RELEASE FROM SENTENCE. He is freed on a personal bond of 50,000 rupees plus two sureties of 25,000 each. The court held that the state had not given sufficient reasons to refuse, notwithstanding his conduct during earlier interim releases. HE HAD SERVED 13 YEARS, 1 MONTH AND 24 DAYS, and remains under a life sentence, lodged at JODHPUR CENTRAL JAIL.
  12. 8 SEPTEMBER 2026 THE GUJARAT HIGH COURT REFUSES HIM TWENTY DAYS' TEMPORARY BAIL in the Gandhinagar case, pointing to the Supreme Court order.

Checked 2026-09-17 · living: health details are kept at home

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