Crime Branch issues lookout circular against godman accused of rape

The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has issued a lookout circular against a self-styled godman who has been accused by a 25-year-old woman of raping her on several occasions, an official said today.

The case was transferred from the district police to the Crime Branch yesterday.

In her complaint lodged at Fatehpur Beri police station in south Delhi on Sunday, the woman had claimed that Daati Maharaj, a self-styled godman, and his disciples had raped her on several occasions.

The police said that they examined the victim today and also got her statement recorded in front of a magistrate.

A lookout circular has been issued against the self-styled godman in order to ensure that he does not leave the country, they said.

The woman had told police that she was a disciple of the self-styled godman for a decade, but after she was raped by him and two of his disciples, she returned to her native place in Rajasthan.

She also alleged that a female disciple of the godman would force her into his room and if she refused, would tell her that other disciples too slept with him, the police said.

The woman also alleged that she was sexually abused in the ashrams of the godman in Delhi and Rajasthan and named two male disciples of Daati Maharaj.

She fled from one of the ashrams two years ago and had gone into depression.

After she recovered from her trauma, she narrated her ordeal to her parents, who approached the police and a case was registered.