Self-styled ‘godman’ Shiva Shankar Baba, 72, has been remanded in judicial custody till July 1 after he was produced before the Mahila Court in Chengalpattu on Thursday. He was arrested by the Crime Branch CID (CB-CID) police in Delhi on Wednesday on charges of sexually abusing girls of a residential school he founded in the city’s outskirts.
The Mamallapuram All-Women police station (AWPS) last week registered three cases against him under various sections of the India Penal Code, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, following complaints from the school’s alumni, and the Child Welfare Committee also initiated an action. After investigation was taken up by the CB-CID, Baba reportedly went missing on the pretext of going on a spiritual tour to north India.
When a team of CB-CID officers reached a hospital in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, where he was undergoing treatment, he disappeared from the place. The police apprehended him in Chittaranjan Park, Delhi. He was brought to the city late on Wednesday after obtaining a transit remand warrant from a Delhi court.
After interrogation, the accused was produced in the Mahila Court, Chengalpattu, where he was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days, after his bail petition was dismissed, which was filed on the grounds of his health condition.
Earlier, when he was brought to the court by the police, activists of the All India Democratic Women’s Association(AIDWA), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and others protested, demanding stringent action against him. A scuffle ensued when police arrested the activists. Later, Baba was lodged in the Chengalpattu sub-jail.
Meanwhile, the CB-CID said any further complaints could be sent to investigation officer DSP Gunavarman at 98405 58992 and inspector Renugadevi at 98406 69982 or through inspocu2@gmail.com