Eyewitness in Asaram son's case shot at in Haryana

Panipat (Haryana), May 13
The main eyewitness in the sexual assault case related to the son of controversial godman Asaram Bapu was shot at by unidentified assailants in Haryana on Wednesday, police said.

Mahender Chawla was shot at outside his house in Sanouli village in Panipat district, 170 km from Chandigarh, and two bullets hit him in the back, police said.

He was rushed to the Panipat Civil Hospital where his condition was described as serious, police added.

"We are trying to identify the assailants. Raids are being conducted at different places," a Haryana Police official here said.

Self-styled godman Asaram's son Narayan Sai was booked and arrested by Gujarat Police following a complaint by a woman disciple that she was sexually assaulted by him repeatedly between 2002 and 2005 at his ashram campus in Surat.

He was granted bail for three weeks by the Gujarat High Court last month.