‘Sex racketeer’ sadhu planned crores-worth con
Shiv Murat Dwivedi (39) — the phoney spiritual guru arrested from south Delhi on charges of running a sex racket — was reportedly planning to dupe a United States of America (USA) based missionary, police said.
Shiv Murat Dwivedi (39) — the phoney spiritual guru arrested from south Delhi on charges of running a sex racket — was reportedly planning to dupe a United States of America (USA) based missionary, police said.
Police said they were contemplating booking Dwivedi, alias Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot, under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
Dwivedi, a former security guard, reportedly had political patronage and was running the sex trade for the past 10 years. Police said they would take him to Chitrakoot, his home town, after seeking his remand from the court.
When the police raided his ashram in Khanpur area of south Delhi they were shocked to find trapdoors and tunnels that opened into small rooms.
Dwivedi ran the racket on Internet with the name of a woman- “Jia Patel.”
Dwivedi was arrested in 1997 for running a sex racket in the guise of a message parlour and the following year on charges of robbery. He was arrested in 2003 in Noida for a similar offence, police said.
“He had built a huge property and bought vehicles with the ill-gotten money. We are taking legal opinion to book him under the anti organised crime act,” said HGS Dhaliwal, deputy commissioner of police (south). Police has accounted for at least five properties that Dwivedi purchased in the past ten years.
One of the seven diaries recovered from Dwivedi’s possession revealed he had approached a Las-Vegas based missionary and was planning to dupe them after taking a loan of Rs 2,500 crore from them, police said.
“We will approach the court on Wednesday and seek Dwivedi’s remand,” said the officer. Dwivedi has made a video CD in the name of Shri Sai Amrit Varsha Rela, got his articles published in E-Times magazine and also constructed a 200-bed hospital and a huge temple in Chitrakoot to expand his racket in the name of charity, said police.
Police recovered Rs 2 lakh stacked in the boot of his two-luxury cars — Honda Civic and Honda City — when he was arrested on Friday.
“He always wore saffron robes and operated swiftly. He was living a dual life. He used to give pravachan (sermons) at various social gatherings and had created an identity for himself,” said the officer. Dwivedi also gave money to people on interest.