Kalicharan Maharaj sent to judicial custody till Jan 13

Raipur, December 31

Hindu religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj, arrested over alleged derogatory remarks about Mahatma Gandhi, was on Friday sent to judicial custody by a court in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur district.

The police produced him in the court a day ahead of the expiry of his police remand, saying they had questioned him and did not need his further custody.

After his arrest from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh on Thursday early morning by the Raipur police, the Raipur court had sent him in police custody for two days.

“He was scheduled to be produced again on Saturday. But police completed the questioning and presented him before Judicial Magistrate First Class Chetna Thakur on Friday and requested that he be sent in judicial custody,” said District Prosecution Officer Hina Yasmin Khan. The court sent him in judicial remand till January 13, she said.

After his alleged remarks about the Mahatma went viral and drew widespread condemnation, the Raipur police on Thursday apprehended Kalicharan Maharaj alias Abhijeet Dhananjay Saraag from near Bageshwar Dham, about 25 km from Khajuraho town in Madhya Pradesh. – PTI