PUNE: Vasai-based godman Hrishikesh Vaidya (39) was arrested from Pimpri in the early hours of Saturday in connection with a sexual assault and criminal intimidation case.The arrested godman was produced before a court in Pune later in the day. “The judge remanded him in police custody till April 6,” deputy commissioner of police (crime), Pune, Nikhil Pingle said.Vasai’s Manikpur police registered a case under sections 64 (rape) and 351 (2) [criminal intimidation] against the godman, Vaidya, after a Pune-based woman lodged a complaint there earlier this week. The case was later transferred to Pune’s Manjari police station as the alleged crime was committed in a lodge under its jurisdiction.The woman stated in her complaint that she got in touch with the godman through social media. The complainant claimed that Vaidya visited Pune under the pretext of carrying out some rituals and allegedly raped her in a lodge in Manjari in Dec 2023. The godman allegedly called the woman to Vasai in May last year and again sexually assaulted her after threatening to send her objectionable photographs to her husband. He also allegedly threatened to kill her husband if she disclosed the incident to anyone.The Pune city police on Friday constituted four teams to trace Vaidya. The crime branch of Pune police zeroed in on him in the early hours of Saturday.The police later produced Vaidya before the Wanowrie court under tight security. Public prosecutor Kavita Kamble sought his police custody, citing that his potency test had to be conducted and the vehicle used in the crime was yet to be seized. Kamble said the police would also have to investigate if the accused posted objectionable photographs of the complainant on social media and if he had any other accomplices. Defence lawyers Sajid Shaikh, Pawan Kulkarni and Ramji Kothli argued that the accused was falsely implicated in the case. After hearing both sides, Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) B S Jagdale remanded Vaidya in police custody till April 6.
