BAREILLY:Another key witness in the Asaram Bapu sexual assault case, who was shot at on Friday, succumbed to his injuries here late last night.
Kripal, 38, was shot at by unidentified miscreants near a petrol pump in the Puwanwa locality of Shahjanhanpur district. He was rushed to a private hospital in Bareilly and yesterday, at around 2230, he succumbed to his injuries, officials here today said.
During investigation, the father of the sexual assault victim, who belongs to this district, had alleged that Singh was being threatened by three associates of Asaram. A case under Section 302 at Sadar Bazar police station in Shahjahanpur has been registered and the matter is being investigated.
However, before his death, in a statement recorded before a magistrate, Singh said he had been receiving regular threats from three associates of the controversial godman. He expressed apprehension that they might have been involved in the attack. However, the victim failed to identify the assailants.
Asaram is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl, a native of Shahjahanpur, in his ashram at Jodhpur in August 2013. The family of the girl was also attacked twice in Jodhpur during court hearings but were saved on both the occasions by alert security personnel. Another prime witness Devendra Chawla was shot at earlier.
In all, there have been nine attempts till date on the lives of various witnesses in the case since the self-styled godman was lodged in Jodhpur jail in September 2013. Two of them have died in the attacks. In February, a prosecution witness was stabbed to death in Jodhpur court premises, while another was shot dead in Muzaffarnagar district in January this year. (AGENCIES)
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