Another ‘Godman’ Booked For Rape In Palghar
The woman gathered courage to file a complaint against the accused, identified as Hrishikesh Vaidya, after the recent arrest of rape accused Ashok Kharat in Nashik: Police
MUMBAI: While Maharashtra has already been rocked by the sexual abuse cases by self-styled godman Ashok Kharat in Nashik, another rape case involving another self-styled godman has come to light in Palghar. A 40-year-old man from Palghar district, has been booked for allegedly raping a 35-year-old woman after claiming to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva.
According to police, the woman gathered courage to file a complaint against the accused, identified as Hrishikesh Vaidya, after the recent arrest of rape accused Ashok Kharat in Nashik.
Senior inspector Hiralal Jadhav of the Manikpur police station said the woman decided to come forward after the Kharat case from Nashik gave her the courage to share her ordeal and file an FIR against Vaidya.
The FIR says that the woman, a Pune resident, first came into contact with the accused, who runs a social organisation in Palghar district, through Facebook in 2023.
“In December of that year, the accused visited Pune to meet the woman. He allegedly deceived her by claiming he was an incarnation of Mahadev (Lord Shiva) and that she was his ‘Parvati,” says the FIR.
The complainant alleged that the man took her to a lodge in the Manjari area of Pune, where he administered a numbing substance before raping her. During the assault, the accused allegedly took photographs of the woman without her knowledge and used them to blackmail her. In May last year, he allegedly called her to a hotel in Vasai and attempted to sexually assault her again.
The complainant also alleged that the accused has lured and sexually exploited several other women using a similar modus operandi.
As the primary offence allegedly took place in Pune, the Manikpur police registered a ‘Zero FIR’ on Wednesday before transferring the probe to the Hadapsar police station in Pune for further investigation, he said.
A Zero FIR is a first information report that can be filed at any police station in India, regardless of where the crime occurred or which station has jurisdiction.
Accused Vaidya, however, refuted the charge against him on his social media account. “A false case has been registered against me. Truth will come out soon. Satyameva Jayate,” he wrote on Facebook.