The woman, a resident of Ankolwadi village in Talala taluka, had given an application to Deputy Superintendent of Police (Veraval Division) on May 23, alleging that Rishigiri Gauswami had been repeatedly raping her since August, 2016. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav/ Representation purpose) The woman, a resident of Ankolwadi village in Talala taluka, had given an application to Deputy Superintendent of Police (Veraval Division) on May 23, alleging that Rishigiri Gauswami had been repeatedly raping her since August, 2016. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav/ Representation purpose)

The head priest of the famous Madhavraiji temple in Gujarat’s Prachi, was on Monday booked on charges of “rape, criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt” after a woman filed a complaint alleging the priest had repeatedly raped her over one-and-a-half years promising he would marry her, but backed out later.

The woman, a resident of Ankolwadi village in Talala taluka, had given an application to Deputy Superintendent of Police (Veraval Division) on May 23, alleging that Rishigiri Gauswami had been repeatedly raping her since August, 2016. Based on her complaint, police booked Gauswami under IPC sections 376 (rape), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).

Prachi is around 20 km from Somnath town.

The woman, in her complaint, stated she had married a man of a Prachi village around six years ago and started visiting the Madhavraiji temple for darshan. During these visits, she came in contact with Gauswami.

“In August 2016, Gauswami invited me to render service in the temple and we grew close to each other. Gauswami then trapped me in an affair, promised to marry me and demanded physical relationship. However, I refused any such favour before marriage. But he forced himself on me and raped me inside the head priest’s room above the temple,” the 25-year-old said in her complaint.

The victim stated that after August 2016, the accused kept on raping her repeatedly. “Therefore, I insisted that he marry me first. But Gauswami told me that I should first divorce my husband. Consequently, I divorced my husband…However, he told me that he would marry me later and raped me again,” the FIR stated.

The FIR further noted that the accused took the victim to Madhavraiji temple one more time on May 7, repeating his promise to marry her. “He demanded sexual favour that day also. However, I refused. This irked Gauswami and he started abusing me and beating me,” the victim stated in the complaint.

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