AJAY PAL LAMBA.

▮ Identity sealed · POCSO §23

Investigating officer, Indian Police Service (IPS), 2005 batch; DCP Jodhpur (West)

Jaipur, Rajasthan (IG, Special Operations Group)

“Ajay Pal Lamba is a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 2005 batch who spearheaded the high-stakes investigation and subsequent arrest of Asaram Bapu in the 2013 Jodhpur rape case. As the then Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Jodhpur (West), Lamba coordinated the team that arrested Asaram from his Indore ashram and successfully navigated years of intense public pressure and personal threats to secure a life sentence conviction.”

Ajay Pal Lamba entered the Indian Police Service in 2005 and served in various key law enforcement capacities across Rajasthan. In August 2013, when a minor girl filed a complaint detailing sexual assault at Asaram Bapu's Manai ashram in Jodhpur, Lamba was serving as the DCP of Jodhpur (West) and was tasked with supervising the highly sensitive investigation. Recognizing the enormous political and social influence wielded by Asaram, who had millions of followers and close ties with powerful politicians, Lamba established a dedicated, tight-knit team to conduct a meticulous, evidence-based probe.

The investigation culminated on September 1, 2013, when Lamba led a police team to Indore, Madhya Pradesh, to arrest the self-styled godman. Facing thousands of agitated devotees who had surrounded the Indore ashram, the police team had to deploy tactical maneuvers to safely take Asaram into custody without triggering large-scale violence. Over the next five years, Lamba's team built an airtight case, systematically documenting forensic evidence, witness depositions, and digital records while strictly maintaining legal protocols to withstand the scrutiny of Asaram's highly paid defense counsel.

Throughout the probe and subsequent trial, Lamba and his family faced extreme intimidation. His office received more than 2,000 written death threats, and there were several attempted incursions by fanatic followers near his residence. In a bid to derail the prosecution, Asaram's defense team repeatedly petitioned the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court to summon Lamba as a witness for hostile cross-examination; however, the Supreme Court ultimately rejected the defense pleas, protecting the integrity of the investigation team's work.

Lamba detailed the challenges, political interferences, and tactical details of this case in his bestselling memoir, 'Gunning for the Godman: The True Story Behind Asaram Bapu's Conviction', co-authored with Sanjeev Mathur and published by HarperCollins in 2020. The book itself became the subject of legal disputes, facing temporary injunction attempts from Asaram's co-accused aides who claimed the book would prejudice their pending appeals, though courts ultimately cleared its distribution. Lamba continues his career in the Rajasthan police, having been promoted to Inspector General of the Special Operations Group (SOG) in Jaipur.