Rapist Asaram shown as saint

Controversial Godman listed among country’s famous saints in Class 3 Rajasthan textbook

Jodhpur: Rape accused Asaram Bapu has been named as a 'great saint' in a book that is currently part of the moral science curriculum for Class III students in Jodhpur schools. The list of great saints appears in Nyaya Ujala, a book by a Delhi-based publication.

According to reports, the self-styled controversial godman has been featured alongside personalities like Guru Nanak, Swami Vivekananda, Mother Teresa and Ramakrishna Paramahansa on page 40 of the book Naya Ujala, published by Gurukul Prakashan, claims to be based on NCERT’s continuous and comprehensive evaluation guidelines.

Meanwhile, the Jodhpur education department has feigned ignorance about the entire matter. The Jodhpur District education officer said that he doesn't have any knowledge about the book. He said that there is no question of taking any action as they are not aware of the entire incident.

This matter is likely to generate fresh outrage at a time when Asaram is under trial for serious allegations. Asaram has been in a jail in Jodhpur since September 2013. Two months later, he, along with his son Narayan Sai, was booked for the alleged rape of two sisters at their ashram in Surat.