Rajasthan based self-styled godman Kaushlendra Falahari Maharaj allegedly raped a 21-year-old law student from Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur, police said on Thursday.
According to media reports, the law student was raped by the baba, who has a strong following across India, on August 7 when she had gone to offer her first stipend as a mark of respect at his ashram in Alwar. The woman devotee lodged an FIR and state police took up the case on September 11.
As per the complaint, the woman and her parents were followers of Falahari Maharaj for the past several years, the police officer said.
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, the ASP said.
Following her parents’ advice, she went to the ashram on Raksha Bandhan last month and was asked to stay for the night by the baba.
During the night, the baba called the woman in his room and allegedly sexually assaulted her, the ASP said, quoting from the complaint.
The woman was allegedly threatened by the baba not to disclose the incident to anyone, she said.
A case was registered against the accused under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation), the police officer said.
“The Bilaspur Police have sent the complaint here. We have registered a case of sexual exploitation and initiated investigation,” Station House Officer (SHO) Aravali police station, Hemraj Meena, said.
The accused has been admitted to a private hospital on Wednesday. He will be interrogated after permission from doctors, Meena said.
(with agency inputs)