Dr Pranav Pandya rape case: Victim against Gayatri Parivar head records statement before court

The development came a few days after the Haridwar police, in the ongoing probe of the case, recorded the victim’s statement in Delhi where she is currently staying.

The victim in the alleged rape case against Dr Pranav Pandya, head of All World Gayatri Family (AWGF) - popularly known as Gayatri Parivar, recorded her statement before the court on Tuesday in Haridwar, said police.

Image for representation: Pandya was questioned a couple of days ago at his residence in Haridwar.(HT Photo)

The development came a few days after the Haridwar police, in the ongoing probe of the case, recorded her statement in Delhi where she is currently staying. Pandya was questioned a couple of days ago at his residence in Haridwar. The victim, who hails from Chhattisgarh, came to Haridwar from Delhi to record her statement before the court.

Senthil Avoodai K Raj, Senior Superintendent of Police, Haridwar confirming the development said, “The statement of the victim was recorded before the local court on Tuesday amid police security considering the high-profile case.”

Apart from confirming the development, Senthil however, refused to reveal much about the case and said, “As it is a serious case, not much can be told to media but a probe is on in the case.”

The case had come to light after the victim, hailing from Chhattisgarh, lodged her complaint against Pandya in Delhi in early May where she is currently staying. In her complaint, she had stated that she was allegedly raped, harassed and intimidated by Dr Pranav Pandya and his wife Shail Bala Pandya in 2010 when she was working as a kitchen attendant at their Haridwar-based Gayatri Pariwar ashram in Shantikunj.

Following the case, Pandya refuted the allegations and later got a stay from the court against his arrest. Terming the allegations as baseless, he had said that, “The lodging of the complaint by the woman after a decade of the alleged incident itself speaks of the false narrative and clandestine way the woman has plotted. She is just trying to tarnish my image.”