Pune: The court of judicial magistrate first class YS Kawade in Pune cantonment on Monday rejected a plea by the Manjari police seeking a three-day extension of Vasai-based godman Hrishikesh Vaidya’s custodial remand in a sexual assault and criminal intimidation case.The police’s plea for an extended custody was based on the premise that they have to recover the pen drive or electronic device in which Vaidya (39) has stored objectionable videos and photos of the rape survivor, a resident of Pune. Also, the police needed to trace and recover the four-wheeler Vaidya is alleged to have used for taking the rape survivor to the scene of the crime — a lodge in Manjari — and needed to establish if Vaidya had sexually exploited other women and if he was assisted in the crime by any other person.Advocate Sajid Shah, representing Vaidya, opposed the plea, arguing that the case diary presented to the court on April 2 and April 4 showed little progress in the investigation. “The court took note of our argument and stated that the accused would be sent to jail under magisterial custody for now. The police may apply for custodial remand later if fresh evidence emerges,” Shah told TOI.Pune police arrested Vaidya from Pimpri on March 28 after the Manikpur police in Vasai registered a zero FIR based on a complaint by a Pune woman. She accused the godman of sedating and raping her at a lodge in Manjari on Dec 31, 2023, under the pretext of performing a ritual.According to the complaint, the godman allegedly called the woman to Vasai in May last year and sexually assaulted her again. He also allegedly threatened to send her objectionable photographs to her husband and to kill him.The Manikpur police subsequently transferred the case to the Manjari police station, as the alleged crime took place within its jurisdiction.On Monday, the police produced Vaidya before the JMFC court at the end of his custodial remand and sought an extension, which the court denied.
