Four women devotees at Sant Kuthir Ashram in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti have accused the abbey’s chief priest, Swami Sachidanand, and his aides of gangrape, torture and illegal confinement.
Two of the rape survivors are from Jharkhand and were residing in the ashram since 2008. One of them told ANI that she had initially joined the ashram to partake in devotional activities, but was later prodded to indulge in sexual acts with the swami.
Swami Sachidanand conducts religious sessions at the ashram. Two women devotees, Kamla & Parmila, convince girls to come to the ashram and prod them to engage in wrong acts with the baba.
Rape Survivor
One of the women, who too was allegedly gangraped by Sachidanand and three of his aides, said men at the ashram thrashed her, hung her upside down and poured water into her nose after she refused to to have sex with them. She was then locked up in a room and was not allowed to speak to anyone, she alleged.
One of the women who got away from the ashram said the swami’s men tried to find and kill her, but failed. She made the charges public as she felt her life could be ruined by the baba’s men.
The devotees allege that their sexual, physical and mental exploitation by the accused baba and his followers went on for years.
Following the complaint, the police registered a case against the accused and ashram authorities.
We received a complaint of sexual exploitation of a few women at an ashram by the men living there. We have lodged an FIR and legal proceedings are being followed. We’ll take further action as per the findings.
Superintendent of Police (SP), Sankalp Sharma
The baba and four of his aides, Param Chetanand, Vishwanatha and Gyan Baira Yyaanand are absconding. The ashram has its branches in Delhi and many states, including Bihar and Maharashtra, across the country.
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