India 🇮🇳 arrests sect leader for alleged rape

Indian police arrested a popular sect leader, the second in the past month, for allegedly raping a 21-year-old woman.

Police officer Jaisingh Nathawat said the woman, whose parents have been followers of 70-year-old Kaushlendra Prapannacharya Falahari Maharaja, complained that he assaulted her on August 7 at his headquarters in Alwar, a town in Rajashtan state.

She said that Falahari Maharaja warned her against telling anyone about the assault, but that she decided to break her silence after another self-proclaimed guru, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, was tried and sentenced to 20 years in prison last month for raping two followers in northern Haryana state.

A court sent Falahari Maharaja to prison for 15 days while the police complete their investigation into the case.

The woman was allegedly raped when she went to hand the sect leader 3,000 rupees ($45) that she had earned for an internship with a lawyer in New Delhi on his recommendation.

UCJ, UNILORIN.