The court has slated the next hearing for July 11.
The Delhi High Court on Friday took strong objection to the delay in arrest of self-styled godman Daati Maharaj who has been accused of raping a 25-year-old woman at the ashrams in Delhi and Rajasthan. While pulling up Delhi Police over its inaction against the accused, the court said, “It has been over a month. Why has the accused not been arrested yet?”
The court has slated the next hearing for July 11.
In her complaint with Fatehpur Beri police station in south Delhi last month, the woman said 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.
After fleeing from one of the ashrams two years ago, the woman said she had gone into depression. Later, she narrated her ordeal to her parents, who approached the police and a case was registered.
A plea was later filed in the Delhi High Court, seeking transfer of probe from Delhi Police’s crime branch to the CBI. The petition, filed by NGO Delhi Citizen Forum for Civil Rights, alleged that the investigation which was carried out by crime branch was “biased and unfair” since no arrest has been made so far. It added that the delay could influence witnesses and lead to destruction of evidence.