Chikkamagaluru: Another shocking incident of crime against women has come to the fore after a non-resident Indian (NRI) from the United States, lodged a complaint against a yoga teacher in Karnataka's Chikkamagaluru district, alleging that he raped her during her visits to India. She alleged that he sexually assaulted her repeatedly after convincing her that they had a relationship in their previous birth. The accused was arrested on Sunday following the complaint.
The police have identified the accused as 54-year-old Pradeep Ullal, who runs the Kevala Foundation in Chikkamagaluru. Ullal was arrested after the victim, who has been taking online yoga classes from him, registered a police complaint against him.
In the complaint, the woman stated that her family originally hails from Punjab but they have been residing in California in the US since 2000. She said that she visited Ullal's yoga centre thrice in 2021 and 2022.
"I was introduced to Pradeep Ullal through a friend in 2020, and he was conducting online yoga sessions," she said in her complaint, Deccan Herald reported.
Victim Alleges Yoga Teacher Raped Her Repeatedly During Her Visit To India
As per her complaint, the accused made her believe that they had a relationship in their previous birth, and spoke about "spirituality, energy work, and divine love" and sexually assaulted her. The woman further alleged that she became pregnant and eventually had a miscarriage.
"He touched me inappropriately, claiming that we had a relationship in our previous birth. He spoke to me spiritually, saying he was doing energy work, kundali block, and divine love, and sexually assaulted me. I returned to California and came back on February 2, 2022, and stayed for 10 days. During the period, he raped me five to six times. I came again in July 2022 and stayed for 21 days, during which he raped me two or three times. As a result, I became pregnant. Eventually, I had a miscarriage." she stated in her complaint.
The Chikkamagaluru rural police have filed a case under Section 376(2)(n) (commits rape repeatedly on the same woman) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.
A police officer stated that Ullal is settled in Bengaluru. He worked in Dubai earlier, where he started yoga classes. Thereafter, he returned to India, bought three acres of land in 2010, and began taking yoga classes in the Chikkamagaluru district, The Indian Express reported.
"Ullal used to take people on Himalayan trips, bird watching, and other events. His operations were mainly online and there were many students," the officer added.