Janjivan Bureau / Bilaspur : After Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim conviction in rape and murder case, 70-year-old Swami Kaushlendra Prapannachari Falahari Maharaj was arrested on Saturday after a 21-year-old law student accused him of rape. The self-styled godman based in Rajasthan, was shifted to a hospital after he was arrested.
As per the complaint, the parents of the woman, who is studying law in Jaipur, are followers of Falahari Maharaj for the past several years.
The incident had allegedly taken place at Madhusudan ashram of the godman in Alwar, Rajasthan, on August 7 this year. On the baba’s recommendation, she did an internship under a senior lawyer in New Delhi for which she received a stipend of Rs 3,000. Her parents asked her to donate the stipend amount to the baba’s ashram in Alwar.
Following her parents’ advice, she went to the ashram on Raksha Bandhan last month. Citing occurrence of ‘grahan’ (eclipse) that day, the self-proclaimed religious guru advised her to stay in the ashram which she agreed to.
During the night, the baba called the woman in his room and allegedly sexually assaulted her, she had alleged.
The baba asked her not to tell anyone about the incident and threatened to harm her if she did so, she said.
When the survivor came home here this month, she narrated the ordeal to her parents following which a rape complaint was lodged with the women cell.
A case was registered against the accused under IPC Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation), the police officer said.
The survivor’s statement was recorded before a magistrate here and the case diary sent to the Alwar Police for further action, followinh which he was arrested today.