Three sadhus arrested for raping woman in Gujarat

RAJKOT: Amreli police arrested three sadhus, including two from Swaminarayan temple in Gadhada village, on Sunday for allegedly raping a woman several times over the last 18 months.
The three sadhus – Raghuram Bhagat, Jagdish Bhagat and Bhavesh Bhagat – were arrested within hours of the woman lodging a complaint with Damnagar police station on Sunday morning.
In a statement, Amreli superintendent of police Nirlipt Rai said that the trio used to call the 30-year-old woman repeatedly for petty labour work at the ashram of Sant Devidas in Narayannagar village near Damnagar. They used to allegedly keep the woman confined in a room and then take turns to rape her.
According to police, the sadhus allegedly even threatened the rape survivor to frame her for theft if she did not give in to their demand.
While the woman kept mum all this time, he mustered courage and approached police on Sunday.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)