Young woman accuses Alwar guru of rape

After Gurmeet Ram Rahim, another famous guru, Sant Kaushlendra Falahari Maharaj, has been charged with raping a 21-year-old in India’s Chhattisgarh. At first, the victim’s family was hesitant about lodging the case against the guru of Alwar city, but Ram Rahim’s conviction gave them the courage to break their silence. The police said the family lodged a zero First Information Report (FIR) about the incident with Bilaspur police station in Chhattigarh. Following the report, an investigating officer reached Alwar on Wednesday, the police said. The alleged perpetrator lives in Alwar, which led the case to being transferred to Arvali Vihar police station in Alwar. On being informed about the officer’s arrival, the accused got himself admitted to a hospital, complaining of an intestinal infection. Arvali Vihar police station Superintendent of Police (SP) Rahul Prakash said: "Our team raided the ashram, but the ‘guru’ was not there. “He is in a private hospital where our men are posted waiting for his discharge. We are in touch with the doctors about his health condition," he added. A follower of Sant Kaushlendra Surdarshanacharya Maharaj said: "I am not aware of any such case. Maharaj is ailing and is not in a position to talk." A senior police officer said, as it is a high-profile case, the family directly met Chhattisgarh Director General of Police (DGP) AN Upadhyay to speak about the incident. According to the DGP’s instructions, a zero FIR was first lodged in Bilaspur police station and then transferred to Arvali Vihar police station, the officer added. He said the young woman’s statement has been recorded before the magistrate in Bilaspur. In her statement, victim said she visited the guru’s ashram Divya Dham on August 7. She offered her internship salary to him, who asked her to spend the night in the ashram. During her stay, he invited her to his room at 7pm and violated her. The guru allegedly threatened the victim to be silent, saying his followers were influential politicians and top cops who could harm her, the statement said. The family says they had been following the guru for 15 years and had donated a considerable amount of money to him.