Self-styled godman arrested for raping woman with wife's help

Chennai, Dec 19: 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 Sathiya Narayanan rape the woman when she was 16 years of age.

The arrests were made 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 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 frequented 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 Sathiya Narayanan and Pushpalatha by my side."

In the complaint, she also said that Sathiya 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 Sathiya 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 I would send my naked photos to my husband."

In July 2020, the victim came to know that she was pregnant and Sathiya Narayan 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 in November after which Sathiya 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 Sathiya Narayanan and his wife Pushpalatha. Both have been remanded in judicial custody.