'Public Is First Court, Watching Everything': Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati On POCSO Case

Days after being booked under the POCSO Act over allegations of sexual abuse of two persons, including a minor, Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati on Monday said he will not oppose his arrest even though "the public is watching everything".

Speaking to mediapersons, Saraswati said there are three courts – the first is the public, which is following all the developments and will deliver its verdict; the second is his own conscience; and the third is the Supreme Court, which "knows who is right and who is wrong". "I have received clean chits from all three," he claimed.

An FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on Saturday on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year.

The action followed an order of the Special Judge (POCSO Act), Prayagraj, which directed that a case be registered against Saraswati on an application moved by Ashutosh Brahmachari Maharaj and others.

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According to officials, the FIR was registered under the relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the BNS.

According to the FIR, the complainants include Ashutosh Brahmachari Maharaj, a disciple of

Swami Rambhadracharya, and two persons "one of them a minor" who alleged sexual abuse by the accused at a gurukul and during religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela in Prayagraj.

Saraswati said the truth will eventually come to light and that the "fabricated story" will be exposed sooner or later.

Saraswati claimed that he remained in the fair area in full view of CCTV cameras and the media during the duration of the Magh Mela, when the administration "installed surveillance at every spot".

Responding to the allegations linked to his gurukul, he claimed that the boys in question never studied there nor did they take admission, and that their marksheets indicated they were students of a school in Hardoi.

He also dismissed claims about an alleged CD, asking why it was not made public if it existed.

ALSO READ: Prayagraj: Special POCSO Court Orders FIR Against Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand In Sexual Abuse Case

According to the FIR, the accused, posing as religious preceptors, allegedly subjected the minor and another youth to repeated sexual assault on multiple occasions over the past year.

It also alleged that the acts were carried out under the guise of "guru seva" and by misusing religious authority.

The complainants claimed that written representations were submitted to the police and senior officials, but no action was taken, prompting them to approach the court.

Following the court's direction, the Jhunsi police station in Prayagraj registered the FIR late on Saturday night.

Saraswati hit the headlines recently for his confrontation with the organisers of the Magh Mela, whom he accused of preventing him from taking a bath on Mauni Amavasya.

(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by The Daily Jagran. Credit: PTI)