Prayagraj: Two days after an FIR under various sections of BNS and Pocso Act was lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand, Shankaracharya of Jyotishpeeth, and his disciple Mukudanand Brahmachari for the alleged exploitation of two minor boys at his camp in Prayagraj, the seer has moved the Allahabad high court seeking an anticipatory bail. On the directives of a Pocso court, an FIR was lodged against Avimukteshwaranand and Brahmachari at the Jhunsi police station on Sunday. The order came on a petition filed by Shankuri Peethadheshwar Ashutosh Maharaj, a plaintiff in the Krishna Janmabhoomi–Shahi Eidgah title dispute. Besides Avimukteshwaranand and Mukundanand Brahmachari, three unidentified persons were named in the complaint.Avimukteshwarand gave a notice to the office of the govt advocate (GA) on Tuesday, prior to filing of anticipatory bail plea in the HC registry. Ashutosh Maharaj had alleged that he organised a ‘maha yajna’ at his camp during Magh Mela, when two minor boys approached him and accused Avimukteshwaranand of sexually exploiting them. He said he approached Prayagraj police seeking registration of an FIR but received no response. He also claimed that both the minors were also sexually assaulted during the 2025 Maha Kumbh. Ashutosh Maharaj then moved the Pocso court, seeking directions for police action. The Pocso court, in its order dated Feb 21, observed, “On the basis of a probe report submitted by the Prayagraj ACP, and the material collected during probe, this court finds that the allegations disclose serious and specific accusations of aggravated penetrative sexual assault, which prima facie constitute cognizable offences punishable under the Pocso Act, 2012, as well as under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.” “The allegations involve aspects such as medical examination of victims and accused persons, collection and recovery of material evidence, identification and tracing of unidentified persons, forensic examination of electronic and digital evidence, verification of mobile location data, and recording of statements of witnesses — all of which squarely fall within the domain of police investigation and cannot be effectively undertaken by the complainant or through the complaint procedure,” it said. At one stage, the Pocso court sought a response from Avimukteshwarand, who filed his response accordingly. The statement of Ashutosh Mahraj, too, was recorded before the court. The two minor boys were also brought before the court, and their statement was also recorded.
