Jodhpur court convicts two other accused and acquits two others.

A special Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe court on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment till death to self-styled godman Asaram Bapu after holding him guilty of raping a minor girl in his ashram at Manai village, near here, five years ago. Two of Asaram's aides were also convicted and sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment each.

Special Judge Madhusudan Sharma convicted Asaram, 77, under various sections of Indian Penal Code and Juvenile Justice Act, holding him guilty of committing the sexual offence against the teenage girl. The judgment was pronounced in the high-security Central Jail, where Asaram has been lodged since September 1, 2013.

Asaram case verdict: As it happened

The co-convicts, Sharatchandra, director of a residential school in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, where the victim was studying, and Shilpi, warden of her hostel, were convicted for criminal conspiracy under I.P.C. and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The court also imposed a fine totalling ₹5 lakh on the three convicts and ordered that it would be paid to the victim, who belongs to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

The teenage girl had stated in her complaint that Asaram had called her to a farmhouse of one of his followers in Manai, which was temporarily converted into an ashram, and raped her in the night of August 15, 2013. Following his arrest and judicial custody, Asaram was denied bail 12 times.