Mumbai: The International Cricket Council found itself in a spot on Wednesday after the person handling its Twitter account inadvertently shared an old video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and self-styled guru Asaram Bapu at a rally. A Jodhpur court on Wednesday convicted Asaram Bapu of raping a 16-year-old girl. The tweet was deleted immediately, but followers of @ICC were quick to take screenshots.
“Narayan, Narayan…”, said the person tweeting from @ICC, quote tweeting the video put out by Alt news co-founder Pratik Sinha, a known critic of Narendra Modi. The tweet had in its text: “Sharing some old sweet memories between @narendramodi and Asaram.” Narendra Modi has been chief minister of Gujarat, where Asaram Bapu has an ashram.
The verdict, holding Asaram Bapu guilty, was delivered by a special SC/ST court that convened inside the Jodhpur Central Jail.
In August 2013, the parents of a 16-year-old girl had filed zero FIR against Asaram in Delhi, accusing him of raping her at his Jodhpur ashram. In September, 2013, Asaram was taken into police custody where he was made to undergo a potency test, which he cleared.
ICC released a statement later in the day on the deleted tweet saying, “ICC is dismayed at a non-cricket related tweet appearing on its Twitter feed earlier today. We would like to extend our sincere apologies to anyone who was offended during the short space of time it was up. We have launched an investigation into how this happened.”
While in jail, he sought special facilities such as Gangajal for his bath, special herbs and medicines, a bed and fruits and sweets, but the court rejected his plea. On November 6, 2013, the Jodhpur police filed a chargesheet against Asaram and four others. The Jodhpur court rejected Asaram’s bail plea several times. At least 42 witnesses have been cross-examined.
