Pune: A self-styled guru and his seven associates, including six women, were arrested from a bungalow in Ubalenagar, Wagholi, around 2 am on Wednesday for allegedly sexually exploiting a woman and cheating her on the pretext of resolving her health and family problems.
Pune commissioner of police (CP) Amitesh Kumar stated that the Pune City Crime branch personnel raided the Ubalenagar bungalow after the victim (41), a resident of Sinhagad Road and an employee of a prominent company in the city, lodged a police complaint on Tuesday night. The arrested guru was identified as Radhamohan Mishra (59). Six women associates of Mishra were also arrested along with his male aide, Kanwal Nayan (58). All of them were remanded in police custody until June 20.
Background of the Accused
CP Kumar said, “The self-styled guru, Mishra, hails from Haryana. He was settled in Pune for the past eight years and ran the ashram from the bungalow.” The victim also hails from Haryana, and her father is a doctor.
Details of the Abuse
The CP told TOI, “Mishra, the arrested self-styled guru, claimed that he was a divine incarnation and subjected the victim to physical, sexual and mental abuse for nearly 15 years. He allegedly repeatedly sexually exploited her, forced her to drink his urine, administered electric shocks, compelled her to divorce her husband and transferred her property into his name.” Kumar added, “He also exploited the faith of her family members. He allegedly turned them against her and portrayed her as dishonest.”
Eventually, the victim mustered the courage to escape from the ashram and return to her family home. When she revealed details of the abuse and the guru’s actions, her family’s blind faith was shattered. They subsequently approached the police and lodged a complaint.
Police Action
“As soon as the complaint was registered, we raided the bungalow and arrested Mishra,” said Tejaswi Satpute, additional commissioner of police (crime). A case was registered against the accused at Kharadi police station. The alleged offences were committed between 2001 and 2026 in Haryana and Pune. The police invoked sections related to sexual assault, criminal conspiracy and the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act.
The CP said, “The guru called women to his bungalow with the promise of solving family, health and financial problems. He would then sexually abuse them. As many as 19 hard disks, 12 laptops, a tablet, 11 cellphones, DVDs, CDs, 23 pen drives, jewellery worth Rs 15 lakh, Rs 6.5 lakh and 10 bullets were recovered from the bungalow. We did not find any firearms.”
Escape Plan and Surveillance
Investigators revealed that Mishra had planned an escape route through an underground tunnel, the work of which was reportedly underway at the ashram. The complainant came into contact with the guru after her father visited his associate Kanwal Nayan. Gradually, her family members became his devoted followers.
“The complainant lived in the bungalow, which functioned as an ashram, for a considerable period of time. Mishra sexually assaulted her and subjected her to physical abuse under the pretext of testing her faith and obedience. She received little support from her family members despite repeatedly complaining to them because Mishra had convinced them that she was dishonest and needed ‘correction’,” the police said.
According to the police, the complainant was kept under constant surveillance. CCTV cameras were installed in her room.
Escape and Blackmail
The Pune CP said, “The complainant reportedly wanted to marry and escape from Mishra’s influence. He arranged her marriage through a matrimonial website after imposing numerous conditions and allegedly instructed her to elope before the marriage, which damaged her relationship with her family. Mishra also demanded private videos of the woman and her husband. He used them to blackmail her. Eventually, he forced her to separate from her husband. The victim finally broke the CCTV cameras and escaped from the bungalow.”
Public prosecutor Vijay Kadam told the court that Mishra had recorded obscene videos of the complainant. He sought police custody of the accused on this ground and other reasons.
Disciples and Local Reactions
Pune CP Kumar said, “We learned that Mishra had disciples across several north Indian states and Maharashtra. Many people from these states regularly visit him.”
TOI spotted several women standing outside the bungalow on Wednesday afternoon. Seema Gutte, a Congress functionary and a resident of the area, said, “A large number of cars visited the bungalow on Thursdays and bhajan programmes were regularly held there. Many women visited the bungalow.” She added, “The occupants of the bungalow always maintained a distance from local residents. They did not even allow people to stand on balconies when bhajans and other functions were underway.”
