The Delhi Police had also issued a lookout circular against him to ensure that he did not leave the country. (Source: Twitter/ANI) The Delhi Police had also issued a lookout circular against him to ensure that he did not leave the country. (Source: Twitter/ANI)

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked self-styled preacher Daati Maharaj for allegedly raping and having unnatural sex with an inmate of his ashram, PTI reported.

The self-proclaimed godman is accused of raping a 25-year-old woman, who was his former disciple. In her complaint with Fatehpur Beri police station in south Delhi on June 7, the woman had said that she was a disciple of Daati Maharaj for a decade, but after she was raped by him and two of his disciples, she was forced to return to her native place in Rajasthan.

She also alleged that a female disciple of the godman used to force her into his room and if she refused, would tell her that other disciples slept with him as well, the police said. On June 22, the police had questioned Daati Maharaj also known as Daati Madanlal, on the allegations, who claimed to have been framed in the case. A Delhi Police team, accompanied by the woman, had later visited the godman’s ashram in Pali, Rajasthan, to gather evidence, but they failed to find him there.

The Delhi Police had also issued a lookout circular against him to ensure that he did not leave the country.

A Delhi High Court bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao had allowed the complainant’s plea to transfer the matter to the CBI, saying the manner in which the Delhi Police carried out the probe ‘casts a shadow on the investigation’.

“A number of politicians and senior officers of the government (Centre and state) are regular visitors of Shani Dham (ashram). Hence, a fair investigation by the Crime Branch cannot be assured,” the plea alleged.

Earlier this month, the Delhi Police Crime Branch had filed a chargesheet in the alleged rape case against Maharaj. The charges have been filed nearly three months after an FIR was registered against the godman on June 11.

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