Ahmedabad, November 2: In a shocking incident, a self-styled spiritual guru in Gujarat was booked for allegedly 'raping’ a minor for many years. Reports inform that the accused raped the woman when the family attended sermons at his spiritual centre in Vododara. According to a report by The Indian Express, the self-styled spiritual guru identified as Prashant Upadhyay, of Bagla Mukhi Brahmastra Vidyamandir in Warasiya area of Vadodara, allegedly raped the minor for years between 2013 and 2017. Police informed that this was the second rape case against Upadhyay. He is in judicial custody after being arrested in a cheating case earlier this year, the report added.

The victim filed a complaint at Gotri police station on Saturday. In the complaint, the complainant, who was a minor at the time of the alleged crime, said Upadhyay had raped her 12 times between 2013 and 2017. The girl informed the police that her family used to attend sermons at his spiritual centre. Lakshyanand, Self-Styled Godman, Booked For Raping Two Minors Under POCSO Act in Haryana.

The news report adds that in 2015, when the victim was 16 years old, three women disciples of Upadhyay took her to his room and there the accused gave her a tablet following which she was unconscious. The complainant said Upadhyay told her that it was a mouth freshner. As she was not in her senses, he raped her and later threatened to release her nude pictures on the social media.

The accused was earlier arrested on charges of cheating and threatening a woman. The report adds that he is also facing another alleged rape case, also registered at Gotri police station. In a latest such case, Upadhyay has been booked under various sections of the IPC for rape and criminal intimidation as well as Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act as the victim was a minor when the alleged crime was committed.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 02, 2020 09:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).