Pune, Sep 12 (Inditop.com) Police have arrested a ‘sadhu’ in an ashram in Alandi, near here, on alleged charges of sexually assaulting five minor students, police said Saturday.
Police inspector Ranganath Kardile said Vighneshwar Gokul Patil, 24, working as a music teacher in the Sant Namdeo Samaj Dharamshala, has been remanded in police custody till Tuesday.
Kardile said that the incident came to light when a 13-year old student from Jalgaon district told his parents about the incidents. The parents lodged a complaint with the police in Alandi, around 25 km from Pune, and Patil was arrested Friday, he said.
Investigating officer Ratansingh Rajput said that preliminary inquiries have revealed that the ‘sadhu’ had sexually assaulted at least another five young boys.
“These children come from different parts of the state to learn music and other skills at the ashram which also has residential facilities. Patil used to lure them to his room in the ashram on the pretext of massaging his arms and legs and then performed unnatural sexual acts with them,” Rajput told Inditop.
There are now 20 students living and studying at the ashram and Rajput said that police will quiz them to find out if they had undergone similar experiences.
“So far we have found out that Patil sodomised five students, in the past two months, including the complainant,” he said.
Patil has been booked under sections 377 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deal with such unnatural sexual offences.
