4 Women Allegedly Raped By Self Proclaimed Godman In His Monastery

A self-proclaimed Godman in India has been accused of raping four women devotees while they stayed in his monastery, police said Thursday.

The four women, three of them from the same family, have filed a complaint against Shailendra Mehta alias “Tapasvi Baba” for raping them during their stay at Mehta’s monastery in Jaipur, a city in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan.

The alleged abuse came to light after one of the victims shared her trauma with her husband as he was about to take their daughter to the monastery, reported Times of India.

The 45-year-old victim shared her story with two other women in her family and they reportedly opened up about similar experiences from the accused. The three women filed a police complaint Tuesday, while the fourth victim lodged the complaint Wednesday.

“The victims said they have been visiting the ashram along with their family members for years. The women used to stay at the ashram for a couple of days in the name of service and it was then the accused used to rape them,” Mukesh Choudhary, station officer, said.

The police said that the 45-year-old victim alleged that while she was staying at the monastery, Mehta had invited her to his room one night. “I am God. You serve me and surrender everything to the Guru,” he reportedly told the victim. Mehta then allegedly injected her with an intoxicant and raped her after she got giddy.

The victim was raped again when she visited his monastery six months later. She told the police that Mehta had threatened her to stay quiet when she tried to resist his advances, The New Indian Express reported.

The victims also accuse that a woman living in the monastery cooperated with Mehta and facilitated the crimes.

After the incidents, the woman reportedly stopped going to the monastery while the rest of the family stayed true to their belief in the Godman and kept visiting him. The woman finally opened up about the assault when Mehta asked her husband to bring their 20-year-old daughter also to the monastery.

The police have started an investigation but have not made any arrests.