Ajay Pal Singh Lamba
Ajay Pal Lamba IPS, Rajasthan, 2009, who is presently posted with the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Earlier he served as Superintendent of Police in Jodhpur, Jhunjhunu. He is the brave officer who could dare to arrest godman Asharam in Sexual assault case. Self-styled godman Asaram was on Wednesday 25.4.2018 convicted and awarded with life imprisonment by Jodhpur court for raping a teenager at his ashram in 2013.
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Police arrest Asaram after 11 days of hide and seek
Ref - news18.com, 31.8.2013
Bhopal: After days of evading the police and refusing to join investigation in the sexual assault case of a minor girl, the 72-year-old self-styled godman Asaram was finally arrested on Saturday midnight by Jodhpur Police from his ashram in Indore. Asaram has been taken to the Indore airport and will be taken to Jodhpur. The further proceedings will be done by Jodhpur Police.
"Asaram Bapu has been arrested and taken away by Jodhpur police", said Superintendent of Police (Indore West) Anil Singh Kushwah.
Asked where Asaram was taken to, Kushwah said "I have no information on that", amidst reports that he was headed to Indore Airport to be flown to Jodhpur where an FIR was filed by a 16-year-old girl alleging she was sexually assaulted by the godman at his ashram in the Rajasthan city.
Earlier on Saturday Jodhpur Police DCP Ajaypal Lamba said that his team is in Indore and Asaram, who claimed through his son Narain Sai that he was suffering from a neurological disorder and hence could not join the investigation, was fit for interrogation and travel. Lamba also said that the investigating officer will take a decision on further action and whether to arrest him or not, as of now he is fit for investigation and travel.
The events unfolded amidst high drama. Senior police officers reached the ashram at 3 pm amid high security as Asaram's supporters numbering hundreds assembled around its compound. The Jodhpur police began interrogation of Asharam around 9 pm and within 3 hours the deployment of the forces was also increased. Asaram and whisked him in a white jeep about half an hour after the stroke of midnight, after waiting for nearly eight hours at the ashram.
As the vehicle carrying Asaram and Jodhpur police made its way out of the ashram in Indore, hundreds of his supporters, watched by posse of policemen, shouted slogans against the police and supporting the self-styled godman.
Strong contingents of police personnel were deployed at the ashram even as Asaram's supporters protested the arrival of the Jodhpur police team.
Meanwhile, the father of the minor girl ended his fast after the announcement of Asaram's arrest. But claimed that he will continue to fight the case until the self-styled godman was sentenced in the case. "He should be charged with the relevant sections as soon as possible so that the criminal proceedings can be initiated against him," said the girl's father.
He also claimed of threat calls from Asaram's supporters". My family is not safe. I am getting threat calls from his supporters. I will take this fight till the end. I will continue the fight for justice to my daughter," he said.
How Asaram was nailed
Ref - Times of India, 25.4.2018
Self-styled godman Asaram was on Wednesday 25.4.2018 convicted by a court here for raping a teenager at his ashram in 2013. Special Judge (SC/ST court) Madhusudhan Sharma delivered the verdict in the Jodhpur Central jail premises.
The girl from Shahajahanpur in Uttar Pradesh was studying at the godman's ashram at Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh. The victim had alleged that Asaram called her to his ashram in Manai area near Jodhpur and raped her on the night of August 15, 2013.
The chargesheet against Asaram and four other co-accused Shiva, Shilpi, Sharad and Prakash was filed by the police on November 6, 2013 under various sections of the POSCO Act, Juvenile Justice Act and IPC.
The 77-year-old Asaram was arrested in Indore and brought to Jodhpur on September 1, 2013. He is under judicial custody since September 2, 2013.
IPS officer Ajay Pal Lamba was in office when a team of Delhi police, along with a minor girl and her father, came to meet him on August 21, 2013. Lamba was then the deputy commissioner of police Jodhpur West. The girl was there to complain against being sexually assaulted allegedly by self-styled guru Asaram.
“At first, I did not believe the family’s version and thought it could be an attempt to defame a big man. Proving me wrong, the girl gave a clear map of Asaram’s ashram at Manai village, around 38-km from Jodhpur, where she was assaulted. How can a person give a map of the room, which is a crime scene, without visiting there? That was the trigger point for our investigation that followed,” recalled Lamba, who is presently posted with the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
“Later we came to know about a Meerut family that had complained about a similar crime by Asaram to the local police. When we went to meet the family we were told it was unwilling to lodge any complaint. That was the second trigger point,” Lamba added.
The police’s masterstroke came on August 31. “We had absolutely no clue about the whereabouts of Asaram. Still we sent a team with five police officers and six commandos to his ashram in Indore (Madhya Pradesh). Simultaneously, we held a press conference in Jodhpur to bluff that he was on our radar. This irked Asaram and he suddenly appeared at Bhopal airport in the afternoon of August 31, 2013. We shared the info with the media persons, who started chasing him. Asaram, without knowing about our team’s presence in the city, reached his Indore Ashram,” Lamba said.
Asaram and his followers attempted to allure the policemen by saying all his property would be transferred. “We got everything from getting huge money to life threats. Amid all this, there was people’s faith that kept us going.” Lamba later got nearly 1600 letters in which anonymous people gave him life threats.
मिलिए उस IPS अधिकारी से जिसने पहुंचाया था आसाराम को सलाखों के पीछे
Ref - khabarindiatv.com, 25.4.2018
आसाराम की गिरफ्तार के पीछे की एक अहम कड़ी हैं आईपीएस अधिकारी अजय पाल लांबा। आज के दिन यह जानना काफी दिलचस्प है कि आखिर पुलिस के शिकंजे में आसाराम कैसे आए और उसमें लांबा की क्या भूमिका थी।
रेप के मामले में आसाराम को जोधपुर की विशेष अदालत ने दोषी करार दिया है। सजा पर फैसला कुछ ही देर में आने वाला है। आसाराम जैसे ढोंगी को हिरासत में लेना इतना आसान नहीं था क्योकि जनता आसाराम की अंध भक्त थी। ऐसे में राजस्थान की जोधपुर पुलिस ने यौन उत्पीड़न के आरोपी आसाराम को आज से साढ़े चार साल पहले 31 अगस्त, 2013 को मध्य प्रदेश के इंदौर से गिरफ्तार करने में सफलता प्राप्त की। यह पुलिस की बहुत बड़ी उपलब्धि थी। चार दिन तक पुलिस रिमांड पर रखने के बाद आसाराम को जोधपुर सेंट्रल जेल में बंद कर दिया गया था।
आसाराम की गिरफ्तार के पीछे की एक अहम कड़ी हैं आईपीएस अधिकारी अजय पाल लांबा। आज के दिन यह जानना काफी दिलचस्प है कि आखिर पुलिस के शिकंजे में आसाराम कैसे आए और उसमें लांबा की क्या भूमिका थी। लांबा ही वो पुलिस अधिकारी हैं, जिन्होंने बेहद सावधानीपूर्वक यौन उत्पीड़न के आरोपी आसाराम को जेल की सलाखों के पीछे पहुंचाया। लांबा के अनुसार यह काफी कठिन टास्क था लेकिन अनुसंधान में आरोप साबित होने के बाद सटीक रणनीति बनाकर आसाराम को मध्य प्रदेश के इंदौर से गिरफ्तार किया गया।
लांबा कहते हैं चुनौतिया अनेक थी। जिस तरह आसाराम का उस समय कद था। देशभर में उसके लाखों अंधभक्त थे। उस स्थिति में दूसरे प्रदेश में जाकर उसे गिरफ्तार करना राजस्थान पुलिस के लिए बेहद चुनौतीपूर्ण कार्य था लेकिन इस केस का सबसे मजबूत पहलू था नाबालिग पीड़िता का बयान। पीड़िता के बयान को साबित करने वाले सभी तथ्यों व सबूतों को सतर्कता के साथ जुटाया गया। बाद में उसे विधिवत रूप से कानूनी दायरे में पिरोया गया। यही आसाराम की गिरफ्तारी का आधार और पुलिस की सबसे बड़ी सफलता थी।
वो इस समय जोधपुर में एसपी (एंटी करप्शन ब्यूरो) हैं। वो बतातें हैं कि एक वक्त इस केस को हैंडल करते हुए ऐसा भी था, जब वो अपने परिवार की सुरक्षा को लेकर इतने परेशान थे कि कुछ दिनों के लिए बेटी को स्कूल भेजना बंद कर दिया था। वो बतातें हैं कि उनकी पत्नी घर के बाहर कई-कई दिन तक नहीं निकलता थीं। वो बताते हैं कि जांच के बाद 10 हफ्ते में उन्होंने पहली चार्जशीट दाखिल की थी। हालांकि लांबा कहते हैं कि उन्होंने किसी तरह का राजनीतिक दबाव जांच में महसूस नहीं किया।
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