Tamil Nadu: Self-Styled Godman & His Wife, Who Own A Temple In Chennai, Arrested For Sexually Abusing Woman

Police said that Pushpalatha had helped Narayanan rape the woman when she was 16 years of age.

Representative Image.

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Police have arrested a self-styled godman Sathiya Narayanan and his wife Pushpalatha after he was charged with sexually abusing a woman devotee. Police said that Pushpalatha had helped Narayanan rape the woman when she was 16 years of age. The culprits were arrested on Saturday.

The police said that objectionable photos of the girl were taken. She was threatened that if she raised a complaint, her photos would be circulated in the public domain.

The main accused and his wife own a temple, 'Shirdipuram Sarva Shakthi Peedam Sai Baba Koil', in Chennai.

The victim in her complaint said, "I was staying with my grandmother while I was in Class 12 and we frequently visited the temple. On April 12, 2016, I was asked to get the sacred ash. When I went to the temple Pushpalatha gave me juice and after two hours, I was lying naked in the bed with Narayanan and Pushpalatha by my side."

In the complaint, she also said that Narayanan had informed her that she was burdened with sins and that he had freed her. She moved out of the place and got married in 2018.

Her husband, according to her, went abroad in search of a job and Narayanan called her in March 2020 and threatened her to meet him. In the complaint, she said, "I went to meet him and he raped me repeatedly stating that he would send my naked photos to my husband."

In July 2020, the victim came to know that she was pregnant and Narayanan and Pushpalatha wanted her to abort the fetus which she did not support, and gave birth to a baby in January 2021.

She said that her husband visited the family and returned abroad for work in November after which Narayanan again called her to meet him and she had no other means but to inform her husband. After this, she lodged a complaint with the police who promptly arrested both Narayanan and his wife. Both have been remanded in judicial custody.