India: Spiritual guru arrested for alleged rape of female student
Falahari Maharaja, a popular guru has been arrested in India over the alleged rape of a 21-year-old law student. Photo: Twitter
(Web Desk) - Following the controversial Indian guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh – who was sentenced to jail for 20 years after being found guilty of rape, another popular guru Falahari Maharaj has been accused of raping a law student in Alwar, a village in Rajasthan state, reported BBC.
According to Indian media reports, if convicted, the self-proclaimed ‘godman’ may have to face up to 10 years in prison.
Maharaj who was arrested on Saturday is accused of raping a law student at his ashram in Alwar village of Rajasthan.
According to BBC, the 21-year-old law student filed a complaint on September 11, alleging the attack had taken place last month on August 7.
The victim in her report has claimed that the attack took place at Maharaj s ashram in Alwar while she was visiting it to donate money on her parents request. The girl has said that she was raped after agreeing to stay overnight at the property and was threatened not to approach the police, reported the Hindu.
The girl added that she gained the courage to report the attack after the conviction of Ram Rahim Singh, who was found guilty of raping two followers in Haryana of northern India.
As reported by NDTV, the police officer Archana Jha has said: “Her family told her to give it to the Baba. When she went to meet him, he told her to wait and then raped and threatened her. The parents came to us after the woman told them everything and we registered a case.”
Protest amid rape trial of Ram Rahim Singh. Photo: Twitter
Maharaj is the second high-profile Indian spiritual guru to be arrested for rape in less than a month.
While the sentencing of Ram Rahim Singh led to violent protests by his followers across India and resulted in the deaths of more than 30 people with more than 2,000 arrests, Maharaj, too, has a strong following both in India and abroad.
