‘Drugged, raped, blackmailed’: Now, FIR against Vasai 'ritual performer' Hrishikesh Vaidya, accused of luring woman via social media

PUNE/VASAI: The Pune city police have constituted four teams to zero in on a Vasai-based godman, charged with rape and criminal intimidation after a 35-year-old woman lodged a complaint against him.

Vasai's Manikpur police registered the case under sections 64 (rape) and 351 (2) [criminal intimidation] against the godman, identified as Hrishikesh Vaidya, after the Pune-based woman lodged a complaint there. The case was later transferred to Pune's Manjari police station as the alleged crime was committed in a lodge under its jurisdiction. A search operation has been launched to nab Vaidya.

The woman stated in her complaint that she got in touch with the godman through social media. The complainant claimed that he visited Pune under the pretext of carrying out some rituals and allegedly raped her in a lodge in Manjari. Vaidya, the suspect, posted a message on his social media account claiming that the case against him was false and the truth would prevail soon.

Senior inspector Hiralal Jadhav of Manikapur police station said, "After the woman approached us, we registered the case and immediately transferred it to the Pune police for further investigation. A team of the Pune police visited our police station and collected information required for further investigation."

After the case was registered against Vaidya, state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal shared a photo on his social media account claiming that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had facilitated the godman in the past.

The Pune city police have constituted four teams to search the godman. Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Nikhil Pingle said, "We have got some inputs about his whereabouts. Based on it, we have sent four teams in different districts in search of him."

Pingle said, "The godman gained the confidence of the complainant by claiming to be an incarnation of Lord Mahadev. He visited the Manjari area In 2023 and allegedly called the woman to a lodge on the pretext of performing some rituals. He gave her a drink laced with sedatives and allegedly raped her. Later, he blackmailed her by threatening to share her photos with her husband and forced her to visit Vasai. He again allegedly raped her there."

Members of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) visited the Manjari police station on Friday and submitted an application demanding to invoke Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013, in the case.

(With Inputs from Vishal RajeMahadik)