Woman lodges complaint against Vaishnav priest

An upperclass Vaishnav woman from Rajkot has accused a well-known godman of the sect of making amorous advances, reports Haresh Pandya.

An upperclass Vaishnav woman from this conservative city has accused a well-known godman of the sect of making amorous advances. She said she was inspired by Pooja Chauhan’s recent semi-nude protest to come out against the injustice done to her.

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In her complaint to the police, Riya Lodhia said Bavashri Vrujeshkumar Gauswami, chief priest of the Madanmohanraiji's Haveli (place of worship for Vaishnavs), had threatened to ruin her marriage if she did not yield to him.

Lodhia alleged her husband and in-laws had tried to force her into giving in. She said when she refused, they disowned her child. Later, when she and her daughter were staying with her father in Dubai, her husband Vimal Lodhia’s family got their marriage annulled.

Bavashri Vrujeshkumar has denied any role in the affair. He said he did not even “know her, let alone do anything she has unfairly accused me of. I blessed her and her husband when they married. I last saw her a couple of months ago when she wanted me to persuade her husband and in-laws not to give her divorce”. The police have registered a case against him.