RAHUL K. SACHAN.

▮ Identity sealed · POCSO §23

Prosecution witness, Jodhpur & Surat rape cases; Narayan Sai case

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

“Dr. Rahul K. Sachan is Asaram Bapu's former personal physician and assistant who survived a stabbing in court before mysteriously disappearing in late 2015. The CBI registered an abduction case in 2016, but his whereabouts and ultimate fate remain unknown.”

Dr. Rahul Kumar Sachan was an Ayurvedic practitioner who worked as a personal assistant, helper, and physician to Asaram Bapu for several years. Possessing detailed knowledge of the inner workings of Asaram's private quarters and the administrative actions of Narayan Sai, Sachan was a critical witness for the prosecution in three separate cases: the Jodhpur rape case, the Surat rape case, and the bribery case against Narayan Sai. His willingness to testify made him a high-priority target for the cult's intimidation campaigns.

On February 9, 2015, as Sachan was leaving the Jodhpur Sessions Court after recording his deposition, an Asaram follower attacked him with a knife inside the court premises. Sachan survived the stabbing due to the intervention of security personnel and bystanders. Following the attack, Sachan filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court expressing deep fear for his life, stating that Asaram had gestured a throat-slitting sign to him during court hearings and that he could not sleep due to constant fear of the godman's hit squad.

Despite the public stabbing and his Supreme Court appeal, Sachan was not provided with effective, long-term witness protection. In November 2015, while residing in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Sachan went missing under highly suspicious circumstances. His family alleged that he had been abducted and killed by Asaram's followers to prevent him from giving further testimony in the remaining Surat trials. The local police initially failed to make progress in the investigation, drawing sharp criticism from the media.

In response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by activist-lawyer Bennet Castelino, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court ordered a CBI investigation into Sachan's disappearance in August 2016. The CBI registered an abduction case, citing serious lapses in the local police's initial probe. Despite the federal investigation and searches across multiple states, no trace of Sachan has ever been found. His case remains one of the most chilling examples of the failures of witness protection in India.