4 UP GODMEN ON THE RUN AFTER RAPE FIR

GORAKHPUR : Two sadhvis were allegedly gang-raped by four godmen at an ashram in Basti district, police said.

Two female associates of the godmen have also been named in the FIR for abetting the crime.

Superintendent of police, Basti, Sankalp Sharma said an FIR had been lodged against six people, including the chief priest of the Sant Kuteer ashram Sachidanand alias Dayanand.

The other accused include Dayanand, Param Chetnanand, Vishwas Nand, Gyan Vairagyanand, and two sadhvis.

All the accused are on the run since Tuesday.

“The complainants have been sent for medical examination. Investigations are on and a police team is carrying out raids to arrest the accused,” Sharma said.

“The victims hail from Chhattisgarh and had joined the ashram in 2009. The four mahants held them captive and repeatedly raped them,” he added. Sharma said the two women were convinced to join the ashram

which held religious discourses across the state.

The victims told the police that the babas tried to rape them in the past too and when they resisted the advances, they were beaten up and kept without food.

Manager of the ashram Dharm Raj was also detained and grilled by the police. The ashram has its main branch in New Delhi.