Mahendra Chawla, a key eyewitness in the Narayan Sai sexual assault case, was reportedly shot at by unidentified gunmen in Panipat on Wednesday.
Reports say Mahendra was later admitted to hospital where he is in critical condition.
The incident could adversely affect the case against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu’s son.
On April 16, 2015, the Gujarat High Court granted conditional bail of three weeks to Narayan Sai, who is accused of repeatedly sexually assauting a woman during her stay at his Surat ashram between 2001 and 2005.
Following the allegations, Narayan Sai was booked under various sections of IPC including rape, unnatural sex, molestation, wrongful confinement etc.
Interestingly, the elder sister of the victim had lodged a separate complaint against Narayan’s father Asaram accusing him of repeated sexual assault between 2001 and 2006 when she was living in his ashram on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.
Asaram is currently lodged in a Rajasthan jail since his arrest in September 2013 for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor girl at his Jodhpur ashram.
On Tuesday, Rajasthan High Court rejected two petitions filed by Asaram Bapu and upheld the Trial Court’s decision to allow the prosecution to present documents in Court to prove that the girl, who was allegedly molested by the self-styled godman, was minor at the time of the crime.
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