Alwar’s ‘Falhari Baba’ booked for rape

Yash Goyal

Our Correspondent

Jaipur, September 21

A 65-year-old self-styled godman, “Falhari Baba”, was on Wednesday booked on the charges of rape, molestation and mental torture on the complaint of a 21-year-old woman of Chhattisgarh.

Anil Beniwal, Circle Officer of Alwar, said Sant Kaushlendra Prapanacharya alias Falhari Maharaj of Madhusudan ashram got hospitalised with a complaint of chest pain and intestinal disorder after he got to know about the FIR lodged against him.

“He is still in the ICU of a private hospital and did not say a word when the cops questioned him,” Beniwal said. A team of cops led by Alwar SP Rahul Prakash raided his three-decade-old ashram, which is said to have local political patronage.

A case under Section 376 (2) of the IPC has been registered against the accused. The primary FIR states that the victim had visited Divya Dham Ashram on August 7 to seek his blessings after she got her first scholarship of internship in law. On the advice of her parents, who used to visit the ashram and knew the accused for over 15 years, she stayed at the ashram for one night when Baba allegedly raped her.