Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda was convicted by a CBI court of raping two female disciples and sentenced to 20 years of jail time. Gurmeet Ram Rahim, a self-styled godman was also accused of brainwashing 400 men to castrate themselves and join Qurbani dal to get closer to god. This however is not the first time a 'godman' or 'saint' has been accused of crimes ranging from swindling money to sexual assault. Here are some such cases.
Chandraswami: Chandraswami, also known as godman, was known to be close to PMs and other powerful leaders at his peak. He is known to have used his tantric powers to influence cabinet positions and advise the rich and the famous on their paths to success. He was arrested in 1996 on the charges of defrauding a London businessman of $100,000. He was also fined by the CBI for violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act in June 2011.
Ganga Shashwatapada Swami: In a bold step of sorts, a woman cut off Kerala-based Ganga Shashwatapada Swami's genitals in order to resist rape in May 2017. The chief minister and the women's commission lauded the girl for the 'brave' act. The woman had claimed that she had been suffering sexual assaults at the hands of the swami since eight years. Within a month, however, she went back on the complaint and said that the swami never raped her.
Sant Rampal: This self-proclaimed successor of god Kabir, founded the Satlok Ashram in Hisar, Haryana. He was arrested in 2014 after he allegedly ordered murder of six people. To prevent arrest, he used human shield of 10,000 devotees who were held against their will. Though the murders took place in 2006, it was in 2014 that the police finally barged in after he ignored 40 summons to appear in court. And even as he is acquitted of charges of him holding devotees against will, a verdict on him ordering six murders in 2006 remains to be made.
Premananda: Premananda, a Tamil from Sri Lanka, had fled the country and established an ashram in Tiruchirapalli. In 1994, a woman who escaped the ashram said that she had been raped by the swami and was pregnant. In 1997, he was convicted of 13 rapes and one murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and eventually died in 2011 at Cuddalore central prison.
Nityananda Swami: Also known as Paramahamsa Nityananda, he is believed to be a reincarnated deity. He was arrested as a former disciple came out and confessed that he had been raping her for five years. He was also caught in a compromising position on tape with Tamil actress Ranjitha. Allegedly there was also a dump of ganja found in his Bidari ashram's compound.
Asaram Bapu: Asaram Bapu or Bapuji as he is called by his followers is being investigated in a case of sexual harassment by the Gujarat High Court. In August 2013, a 16-year-old girl accused Asaram of sexually assaulting her in the pretext of an exorcism ritual at his ashram in Jodhpur. He was arrested and has been in jail since four years, but there has not been any progress in the case as of yet.
