A day after he was discharged from hospital, the Rajasthan Police today arrested self-styled godman Kaushalendra Prapannacharya 'Falahari' Maharaj from Alwar on charges of raping a 21-year-old woman.
Rahul Prakash, Superintendent of Police Alwar, confirmed the news. The baba has been arrested under Section 376 (rape) and section 506 (criminal intimidation).
Prakash said that baba was taken to a government hospital for a medical check up and he was found fit and healthy. He was then presented before a magistrate from where he was sent to judicial custody till October 6.
The victim, who hails from Chhattisgarh, has accused the 70-year-old baba of raping her at his Alwar ashram on August 7. She said that her family members are the follower of Falahari Baba from last 15 years. The girl had even claimed that she donated her first salary to the godman at the behest of her parents.
Facing sexual assault accusations, the Baba got himself admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital in Alwar on Wednesday under police security. On Friday, doctors at the hospital found him fit and he was shifted to a private ward. The Baba has followers both in India and abroad.
A police official said that they have already recorded the statement of the young woman and have taken her to the ashram to identify the room where the crime occurred. Police has sealed the godman's room, in front of which he used to sit on a throne and deliver his sermon to followers.
The victim had filed an FIR at Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, which was later transferred to Alwar's Aravali Vihar police station.
The case comes in the wake of the conviction of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh by a Panchkula Special Court on August 25 for the rape of two of his female devotees.
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