Complainant in Swami Avimukteshwaranand POCSO case alleges attack aboard train in UP

The Government Railway Police (GRP) later registered an FIR against an unidentified person under charges of voluntarily causing hurt.

The complainant alleged that after he had earlier filed a complaint, a case was registered against Avimukteshwaranand and others, following which they allegedly conspired to have his nose cut off.

According to police, the complaint said on Saturday, when the train reached Sirathu railway station, an unidentified person, allegedly acting at the behest of those named, attempted to cut off his nose and attacked him with a sharp-edged weapon with the intention to kill.

The complainant sustained several cuts on his nose, face and hands and suffered bleeding in the attack. Police said he has undergone medical examination, and on the recommendation of doctors, an X-ray was conducted, the report of which is awaited.

“The matter is being probed,” said Arun Kumar Pathak, Circle Officer, GRP, Prayagraj.

In a video circulating on social media, Ashutosh is purportedly heard claiming that the assailant may have been following him earlier and that he likely saw him at the Ghaziabad railway station.

Most passengers in the coach were asleep when the attack took place on Sunday morning, he added. The assailant tried to cut off his nose as a Rs 21 lakh reward was announced for doing so by a follower of Avimukteshwaranand, he claimed.

He further alleged that the move was aimed at pressuring him to withdraw the case and preventing him from submitting evidence, adding that he had come to Prayagraj to present all evidence, including a pen drive, before the court.

In another video, Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati is purportedly heard questioning the complainant’s account, saying such attacks are rare on trains and it was unusual that no passenger witnessed the incident. He also cited an attendant’s statement, claiming that Ashutosh Brahmachari was fine when he entered the bathroom and began making allegations only after coming out. Reservation records could easily verify how many people were travelling in the coach, he added.

He added that if the alleged attack indeed took place, the perpetrators should be identified and arrested immediately, and the government should ensure strong security for the complainant, even SPG-level protection, if required.

Avimukteshwaranand is currently on a march from Varanasi that began on March 7 and is scheduled to reach Lucknow on March 11, where he plans to launch a campaign for cow protection. The march follows the expiry of the 40-day deadline given by him to declare the cow as ‘Rajya Mata’ and impose a complete ban on cow slaughter in Uttar Pradesh.

He said the entire country was watching his yatra, which was meant to reveal who the “real” and “fake” Hindus are, alleging that some people were trying to divert attention from the march by perpetrating such incidents.

On reports that a Rs 21 lakh reward had been announced for cutting off the complainant’s nose, he said he only learned about it through media reports and that if such a remark was made, it might have been said in anger or emotional outrage.