After 9/11 attack, Asaram wanted disciples like Osama Bin Laden

A Jodhpur court on Wednesday awarded life sentence till death to Asaram after holding him guilty of raping a 15-year-old girl in his ashram five years ago.

After the 9/11 twin-tower attack in New York, where two planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, Asaram had hailed Al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden.

NEW DELHI: From the high pedestal of a preacher having thousands of followers, self-styled godman Asaram's fall from grace came after he was embroiled in the rape case of a minor girl. A Jodhpur court on Wednesday awarded life sentence till death to Asaram after holding him guilty of raping a 15-year-old girl in his ashram five years ago. Not only of rape, he was also accused of other crimes like land grabbing and practice of black magic in his ashrams. Here is a look at some of the controversies in which the self-styled Goodman was involved. Death of students His brush with trouble first started in 2008 after the deaths of two 10-year-old cousins, Abhishek and Dipesh Vaghela, at his Motera ashram in Gujarat. The mutilated bodies of the two boys were found in the riverbed near the ashram. Statement on Delhi gangrape victim After the 16 December Delhi rape case, Asaram had said that the Delhi gang-rape victim was equally responsible for the rape. He also said that if the girl had chanted the 'Saraswati mantra', she would never have stepped into the bus with her boyfriend. Known for his foot-in-the-mouth tendency, he further added that She should have taken God’s name and could have held the hand of one of the men and said I consider you as my brother and should have said to the other two, brother I am helpless, you are my brother, my religious brother… then the misconduct wouldn’t have happened. Asaram Bapu's books on sex tips given to students Children in Chhattisgarh's south Bastar district of Kondagaon were allegedly being forced to read books authored by disgraced godman Asaram Bapu to prepare for a competitive exam. “If someone opts for sexual indulgence in life, he should be reminded of philosopher Socrates’ teachings,” the book 'Divya Prerana-Prakash reportedly said. “Sexual appetite is never satisfied. It renders one’s life useless and devastated”, the book mentioned. Land encroachment The ashram was also in news for allegedly encroaching land in Ahmedabad. The Ashram was allocated about 10 acres by the State government 10 years back. But it encroached upon another 18,000 square metres. Slapped a journalist In September 2012, Asaram Bapu courted controversy after he slapped a journalist during his satsang in Ghaziabad. Wanted disciples like Osama Bin Laden After the 9/11 Twin-Towers attack in New York, where two planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, Asaram had hailed Al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden. I wanted obsessive followers like Osama Bin Laden, he had said.