Police arrest self styled ‘Dharmaguru’ for raping woman by calling himself ‘Mahadev’s avtaar’

Subsequently, the Pune police launched a search for the accused. A crime branch team nabbed the accused from Pimpri area and then he was formally placed under arrest, under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 64, 64(2)(m), 351(2), in the early hours of Saturday.

Police said the accused had allegedly lured a woman in 2023 by claiming that he was a “Dharmaguru” having deep religious knowledge. He allegedly called himself an “Avtaar” of Lord Mahadev and told the victim that she was his “Parvati”.

Police said the accused allegedly called the victim to marry her. Then, as per the FIR, he allegedly made the victim sit in his car and then took her to a hotel in Pune on December 12, 2023, where he gave her sedatives through “Prasad (food offered to the deity) and then forcefully developed a physical relationship with her. The victim also allegedly that the accused tried to rape her again at a hotel in Vasai on May 11, 2025, threatening to share her nude photos with her husband.

While seeking his custody for further investigation, police told the court they want to probe whether the accused has stored the alleged objectionable videos of the victim in pendrive or other electronic devices. Police also submitted before the court that the accused threatened to shoot dead the victim’s husband. Police are also investigating whether the accused has committed similar crimes against other women.

Meanwhile, before his arrest, the accused had claimed in his social media post that the case against him is false.