In a claim bordering on the bizarre, Dwaraka-Sharda Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati said that incidents of rape would increase because women entered the Shani Shingnapur temple's inner sanctum. The 94-year-old seer was irked with women entering the temple and said it would bring them bad luck.

He also went on to say he has 'found' the reason behind the drought situation in Maharashtra. According to him, the worshipping of Shirdi Sai Baba by his followers is responsible for the current miserable situation in Maharashtra.

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The seer made the comments during a visit to Haridwar. He said that worshipping a human as god is considered 'inauspicious'. "Calamity strikes where those unworthy of worship are worshipped," said the seer in a statement which is likely to stoke massive controversy for being brazenly insensitive. Quoting scriptures, the seer said, such places suffer from 'drought, flood, death or fear', and Maharashtra is currently reeling under all of these things.

The seer has expressed his disapproval of worshipping Sai Baba earlier in 2014 as well. He also asked devotees to remove pictures of Sai Baba from temples where it is put beside other deities.