Amrut Prajapati, witness against Asaram, succumbs to bullet wounds

AHMEDABAD: Amrut Prajapati, a former aide of Asaram, succumbed to his bullet injuries on Tuesday at a private bungalow in Madhavpark society of Odhav. His family members said that the truth would emerge only if investigation was handed to a neutral agency.
Prajapati was shot at by two motorcycle-borne assailants while he was attending patients at his Rajkot clinic.Prajapati was an Ayurvedic doctor and before he turned against Asaram, he was working as a vaidya with him.
Prajapati is survived by his wife Saroj Prajapati, who is also an Ayurvedic doctor. "Prajapati was shifted to Rudraksh Hospital in Odhav. As his condition worsened, he was rushed to Apollo and later to Jivraj Mehta Hospital, where he was on the ventilator. We got him discharged from the hospital on Monday," said a family member.
READ ALSO: ​Vanzara protected Asaram like a wall, says Amrut Prajapati
Rajkot police had earlier registered a case of attempt-to-murder against unknown assailants. "However, after Prajapati's death, Rajkot police has added IPC section 302 (murder) against the accused," said Rajkot police commissioner Mohan Jha.
Rajkot police sources said a sub-inspector had been rushed to Ahmedabad.
"He will record the statements of doctors who treated Prajapati. We are also awaiting the postmortem report," one source said.
"If needed we could question Asaram and Narayan Sai," a Rajkot Police source added.

File photo of Narayan Sai also called as Narayan Prem Sai, son of Asaram Bapu.
Jha said they will now speed up the probe as they have got names of five suspects. "Very shortly, they will be summoned for questioning," he added.
Prajapati had turned against Asaram after the mysterious death of two students of Asaram Gurukul in Ahmedabad. It was alleged by the parents of the two boys, Dipesh and Abhishek, that black magic was performed on them, which led to their death.
The death of the two boys had sparked huge public outrage. The cops had a tough time controlling people who had come out on roads to protest against Asaram and his sadhaks.
READ ALSO: Kids' death in Asaram's ashram: Court frames charges against sadhaks
Later, a commission was set up to probe the deaths. "Amrut Prajapati testified before the commission that tantrik vidhya was a regular practice at Asaram's ashram and he was a witness to it," said police sources.
Moti Prajapati, a relative of Amrut, alleged that Amrut was attacked by Asaram's men nine times. "We had informed police each time Prajapati was assaulted, but no action has been taken against the self-styled godman," Moti said.
READ ALSO: ​Asaram's supporters attacked him many times, claims ex-aide
Crime branch starts probe
Crime branch sources said that they have started probing the murder of Amrut Prajapati. "We have asked for the bullets recovered from Prajapati's body. We will get them examined by forensic experts and try to match them with the bullets which were recovered from other victims shot in a similar manner," said a senior official of Ahmedabad crime branch.
Sources said the crime branch is probing another incident of firing in which another baiter of Asaram, Raju Chandak, was shot at in Ranip in 2008. The cops have not got any clue in that case.
Body not accepted
Amrut Prajapati had wished that after his death, his body be donated to a hospital for medical students for study. However, his family members alleged that the anatomy department of the civil hospital refused to accept the body citing that chemicals had been applied to the body during postmortem.
Security increased only after death
After Amrut Prajapati was attacked several times, the police gave him two police guards for protection. However, the tally of guards was increased to four after his death.
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