Man booked for abusing women in Pataudi village near Gurugram

Last week, at least four videos of the spiritual teacher’s were circulated online amid allegations of his indecent behaviour with several women.

The police on Wednesday booked a man for allegedly abusing and using obscene language to insult several women in village Bhora Kalan, Pataudi. The suspect is allegedly a follower of a spiritual teacher in the village, the complainant said.

Residents of the village had taken to the streets on Wednesday demanding the registration of an FIR against the spiritual leader. (HT FILE)

Police said a complaint was filed on Wednesday by a resident of the village against one Praveen Yadav. He was booked under Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code at Bilaspur police station on Wednesday, said police.

The complainant said in the FIR, “The suspect has been making phone calls to people and using obscene language insulting the character of girls and women of the village. His behaviour has led to a feeling of rage among people in the village. Strict action should be taken against him so that peace prevails in the community.”

Subhash Boken, spokesperson, city police, said the case was registered on Wednesday and the police was conducting raids to arrest the suspect.

On August 14, the videos were circulated online accompanied by a message (whose veracity is being probed by the police) alleging that the spiritual teacher was sexually exploiting minor girls and women at his ashram in the village. A case was also registered on August 19 against unknown persons for allegedly circulating the videos on social media at Cyber Crime police station.

On Wednesday, a resident of Farrukhnagar alleged that he had written a letter (a copy of which is with HT) to the chief medical officer of the health department of Gurugram, stating that a makeshift hospital was illegally being operated from the spiritual leader’s ashram in Bhora Kalan village. In the letter, he alleged that he suspected that several poor people from the nearby areas were availing medical facilities from the makeshift hospital and it was possible that an organ trafficking racket was operational in the garb of the hospital. He demanded a probe in the matter.

Jaswant Singh Punia, chief medical officer, “I have not received any letter yet. When any such information is received and confirmed, the matter will be investigated and necessary action taken.”