As many as 600 girls have gone missing from the ashram of self-styled godman Daati Maharaj, who has been accused of rape by a 25-year-old woman. The girls have gone missing from Daati Maharaj’s ashram in Alawas in Rajasthan. As of now, there are only 100 girls in the ashram.
Notably, Daati Maharaj had claimed that there are at least 700 girls in the ashram, and the recent finding by the police has sent them into tizzy. Sources told media that the police are investigating whether the girls were sent away from the ashram by the rape accused self-styled godman or whether they have gone their homes on vacation.
Daati Maharaj himself has also gone missing from the ashram, and the crime branch is on lookout for him.
This comes days after a 25-year-old woman claimed that she was a disciple of Daati Maharaj for almost a decade, but ran away from the ashram after allegedly getting raped by the godman and two of his disciples.
She had also alleged that a female disciple of the godman would force her into his room and if she refused, would tell her that other disciples too slept with him. The woman also alleged that she was sexually abused in the ashrams of the godman in Delhi and Rajasthan.
According to the complaint filed by her, she fled from one of the ashrams two years ago and was in depression for a long time. After she recovered from her trauma, she narrated her ordeal to her parents, who approached the police and a case was registered.
Daati Maharaj, however, dismissed all allegations saying the complainant was like his daughter. He also assured that he would fully cooperate with the authorities in the investigation. He said that he would not blame the complainant even if he is executed for the crime.
Prasanta Patnaik 
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