‘Godman’, secretary held for raping school teacher

HORROR Complainant’s colleague arrested for luring her to ashram

NEW DELHI: A self-styled godman and his woman secretary have been arrested for allegedly raping a 24-year-old private school teacher at his ashram in west Delhi’s Janakpuri in July, police said on Sunday.

While the alleged godman, 40-year-old Hari Narayan, allegedly raped the woman after spiking her food, his secretary assisted him and touched the woman inappropriately, Monika Bhardwaj, deputy commissioner of police (west), said.

The police have also arrested the woman’s female colleague for allegedly luring her to the ashram. “The colleague was also present at the crime scene,” said the DCP.

Police said the woman works at a private school. “When the woman shared personal problems with her colleague, she advised her to go through a spiritual healing at an ashram in Janakpuri,” said an officer.

Claiming that she too had been healed “miraculously”, the colleague allegedly recommended visiting Hari Narayan who runs a small “spiritual centre” named Aadya Param Yog Peeth in Janakpuri. The woman and her colleague visited the ashram on July 10. Prior to that, the colleague allegedly instructed her to eat only fruits for “detoxification”.

At the ashram, the duo was greeted by 38-year-old Sakshi, who had been working as Narayan’s secretary for the last four years. “Before the woman could meet Narayan, his secretary drew her into hours-long conversations, leaving her physically and mentally drained,” said an officer, quoting the victim. The woman wanted to return home without meeting Narayan but was allegedly convinced by her colleague and the secretary to stay back for the night.

The “healing”—which began with the woman being asked to bathe and have dinner, which, she alleged, was laced with sedatives — started at 8.30pm. Thereafter, Narayan allegedly raped the woman in front of the secretary and the colleague.

The DCP said the woman wasn’t sure how to react until a week ago when she decided to write an email to the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW). The DCW officials helped the woman approach police following which a case of rape and criminal conspiracy was registered at Janakpuri police station on Friday.

Narayan was arrested from Haldwani in Uttarakhand and the two women were arrested from Delhi on Sunday, the DCP said.