Narayan Sai aides detained for bribing police; Rs 5 crore seized

A sub-inspector and five aides of self-styled godman Asaram's son Narayan Sai were detained on Friday for allegedly attempting to bribe the police and other officials in a bid to weaken the sexual assault case against him and Rs five crore seized from their possesion.

Police said the Rs five crore seized from Sai's aides was allegedly meant to be given as bribe to the police, doctors and judicial officials. "PSI C K Kumbhani, posted at Detection of Crime Branch (DCB), Surat, was detained along with five other Narayan Sai aides who tried to bribe the police to weaken Sai's sexual assault case," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shobha Bhutada said.

"Cash worth Rs 1 crore was seized from Sai's associate Uday Sanghani and Rs 4 crore was recovered from Ketan Patel, a real estate developer based here," the police said, adding that all the six have been taken into custody.

PSI Kumbhani was also detained for demanding money, promising that he would distribute it to police officers, doctors and judicial officials in order to weaken the rape case, the police said. Narayan Sai, 40, is in judicial remand in connection with a rape case against him.

Sai was brought to the city on December 4 after he was arrested by the Delhi Police from the Delhi-Haryana border, along with his two aides after a car chase. Two sisters had lodged complaints against Narayan Sai and his father Asaram of rape, sexual assault, illegal confinement and other charges.

Surat police had booked Sai under various IPC sections including rape, unnatural sex, molestation, wrongful confinement, unlawful assembly, rioting armed with deadly weapon, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy. In her complaint, the younger of the two had accused Sai of repeated sexual assaults between 2002 and 2005 when she lived at his Surat ashram.

The elder sister, in her complaint against Asaram, had accused him of repeated sexual assaults between 1997 and 2006 when she was lived at his ashram on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

The complaint against Asaram, which was initially lodged at Surat's Jehangirpura police station, was transferred to Ahmedabad's Chandkheda police station, since the alleged incident took place there.

Asaram (72) is currently lodged in Jodhpur jail after being arrested in September for alleged sexual assault on a minor girl at his Jodhpur ashram.