|
• JAIPUR, India (AP) -- A controversial spiritual guru was arrested early Sunday on a rape charge filed by a teen-age girl in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan, police said.
• Asaram Bapu was arrested at a spiritual retreat in central India and flown to the city of Jodhpur where police say he is wanted for allegedly raping the girl, said Ajay Singh Lamba, a top police officer.
• The case is the latest in a series of high-profile rape cases in India that have fueled public protests and raised questions about how police handle the cases and treat the victims.
• The girl filed a complaint two weeks ago accusing the Hindu religious preacher of raping her when she visited his retreat in Jodhpur with her mother. The girl's family says they have been followers of Asaram Bapu for more than a decade.
• Asaram Bapu, who has hundreds of thousands of followers in India and is well known for his discourses on Hindu religion, has denied the charge.
• ___
Texas megachurch's teachings under scrutiny amid cluster of measles cases that has sickened 21
• NEWARK, Texas (AP) -- The teachings of televangelist Kenneth Copeland and his family focusing on the virtues of trusting God to keep healthy are under scrutiny after a cluster of measles cases linked to his family's North Texas megachurch revealed many congregants hadn't been vaccinated against the highly contagious disease.
• Kenneth Copeland Ministries has won supporters worldwide through television programs, crusades, conferences and prayer request networks. He was a pioneer of the prosperity gospel, which holds that believers are destined to flourish spiritually, physically and financially.
• Although church officials were quick to act after the outbreak -- including hosting clinics in August where 220 people received immunization shots -- and have denied they are against medical care or vaccinations, people familiar with the ministry say there is a pervasive culture that believers should rely on God, not modern medicine, (Continued on page 28)
|
|
