Police files chargesheet against Daati Maharaj in rape case

The Delhi police Monday filed a chargesheet against self-styled godman Daati Maharaj, and three of his brothers, in a rape case where the complainant is one of his woman disciples, a senior police officer said.

The chargesheet was filed in the Saket Court under sections 376 (punishment for rape, with a maximum term of seven years) and 377 (unnatural offences) of the IPC, he added.

Meanwhile, Chairperson of Delhi Commission For Women Swati Maliwal demanded to know why the police had not arrested the godman.

"Chargesheet is okay but why Delhi Police never arrested Daati Maharaj? When Delhi Police arrests all rape accused immediately, then why not Daati Maharaj? Why is he more privileged than other rapists? Reveals a deep nexus of Police with the influential, (sic)" she wrote on networking site Twitter.

The woman had filed the complaint against Daati Maharaj, his three brothers and a woman at the Fatehpur Beri Police Station here in south Delhi in June. The case was later transferred to the crime branch.

The victim alleged that she was sexually abused at Daati Maharaj's ashrams in Delhi and Rajasthan.

The woman told the police that she had been a disciple of Daati Maharaj for a decade but after she was raped, the woman returned home in Rajasthan.

The Delhi police had earlier issued a lookout circular against him to ensure that he does not leave the country.