AKHIL GUPTA.

▮ Identity sealed · POCSO §23

Prosecution witness, Surat rape case

Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh

“Akhil Gupta was Asaram Bapu's former cook and personal assistant who served as a key prosecution witness in the Surat rape case before being shot dead in Muzaffarnagar in January 2015. His murder intensified demands for a federal investigation into the systematic targeting of witnesses in the Asaram cases.”

Akhil Gupta (1980–2015) was a close associate of Asaram Bapu, working as his personal cook and domestic helper at the Motera ashram for several years. Due to his daily proximity to Asaram, Gupta observed the private activities of the godman and the movements of female disciples inside the personal quarters. Following the filing of rape complaints by two Surat-based sisters in October 2013, Gupta agreed to testify for the prosecution, providing details that corroborated the victims' claims of confinement and abuse.

Gupta recorded his statement under Section 164 of the CrPC, detailing the internal layout of the ashram and the roles played by Laxmi Devi and Bharti Devi in managing the female quarters. Fearing reprisal, Gupta returned to his hometown of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, where he opened a small dairy shop. He repeatedly requested police protection from the Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh governments, citing threat calls from unidentified Asaram devotees, but received minimal security assistance.

On January 11, 2015, while Gupta was riding his scooter back home from his shop, two motorcycle-borne assailants intercepted him in the Janakpuri area of Muzaffarnagar and shot him multiple times at close range. Gupta died on the spot. His murder, occurring just seven months after the assassination of Dr. Amrut Prajapati, confirmed the existence of an active hit squad targeting Asaram's critics. The killing sparked national outrage and led to demands for the Supreme Court to intervene to protect the remaining witnesses.

In July 2015, under pressure from the Allahabad High Court, the Uttar Pradesh government recommended a CBI investigation into Gupta's murder. The subsequent arrest of Kartik ATS handler Kartik Haldar in 2016 revealed that Haldar and associate Tamraj had executed the assassination. Gupta's family has continued to face legal pressure, with Asaram's followers filing counter-allegations against Gupta's character, but the family has remained committed to seeking justice in the ongoing murder trial.