‘Godman’ repeatedly raped 15-year-old girl, kept her chained in room, say police
The accused was identified as Swami Poornananda, who runs Swami Gnanananda Ashram.
A 63-year-old self-styled godman was arrested for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl repeatedly for two years and keeping her chained in his bedroom at an ashram in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam, police said on Tuesday.
The accused was identified as Swami Poornananda, who runs Swami Gnanananda Ashram, which also operates an orphanage and an old-age home at the Venkojipalem area in the city, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) of the Disha police station, Visakhapatnam, Ch Vivekananda said.
The ACP said that Poornananda was arrested on Monday night following a complaint lodged by the victim at Vijayawada. In her complaint, the minor has alleged that she was chained in a room, tortured and raped repeatedly by the accused for the last two years, he said.
“The case was transferred from Vijayawada to Visakhapatnam. We have booked a case against the [self-styled] godman under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), besides Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offices (POCSO) Act,” the ACP said. “The victim is currently undergoing medical examination at Vijayawada government hospital.”
According to the police, the victim, who hailed from Rajamahendravaram, lost her parents at an early age. Her relatives admitted her in the orphanage associated with the Gnanananda Ashram in Visakhapatnam two years ago, after she completed her fifth class.
“She complained to the police that there were 12 orphaned children, including four girls, at the ashram, who were made to work at a goshala [cow shed]. Some of them had fled the ashram, unable to bear the torture inflicted on them,” the ACP said, quoting from the complaint.
In her complaint, the minor has alleged that Poornananda used to take her to his bedroom every night and rape her. For the last one year, the girl was chained in the bedroom, the senior officer said. The girl told the police that she used to get small quantity of food and not enough water for bathing.
On June 13, the girl escaped from the ashram with the help of a maid and took a train to Vijayawada. During the journey, she narrated her ordeal to a fellow woman passenger. “The woman tried to admit her in a hostel on the outskirts of Vijayawada, but the hostel authorities asked her to first lodge a complaint with the police. With the help of the local child welfare committee, she lodged a complaint with the police,” the ACP said.
Poornananda also lodged a missing complaint of the girl with the Visakhapatnam police on June 15. “After ascertaining the facts, the Vijayawada police transferred the case to Visakhapatnam police, who immediately arrested the [self-styled] godman,” the officer added.
While being taken into custody on Monday night, Poornananda told reporters that the complaint against him was baseless. “Some people, who have been trying to grab the ashram land, have conspired against me,” he claimed, without elaborating who the alleged conspirators were.
This is not the first time Poornananda has been arrested for rape of a minor. In 2012, he was arrested in connection with the rape of a 13-year-old girl, the ACP said, adding, “He is still facing trial in that case.”
