UP Police Invoke Serious POCSO Charges Against Swami Avimukteshwaranand In Late-Night FIR, Hours After Special Court Order

The Uttar Pradesh Police on late Saturday (February 21) night lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, Mukudanand Brahmachari and others, invoking stringent provisions of the POCSO Act and BNS over alleged sexual abuse of minors during the recent Magh Mela. The FIR was lodged at the Jhunsi Police Station in Prayagraj at 23:37 hours, just hours after a Special POCSO Court in Prayagraj issued a directive to the concerned SHO to register the case 'forthwith'. The FIR has invoked serious provisions under the POCSO ACT, including Sections 3, 5l, 4(2), 6, 16, 17, and 51. It may be noted that Section 5l r/w Section 6 pertains to the punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault on a child, for which the punishment is rigorous imprisonment not less than 20 years, which may extend to life imprisonment. The order was passed by the Additional Sessions Judge/Special Judge (POCSO) Act, Prayagraj Vinod Kumar Chaurasia on an application filed under Section 173(4) of the BNSS by Ashutosh Brahmachari Maharaj. Ashutosh Maharaj approached the Special Judge after local police authorities allegedly failed to act on initial written complaints regarding the abuse made to the Station House Officer and the Commissioner of Police. His application alleged that two minors (Victim 'A', aged about 14 years, and Victim 'B', aged about 17 years and 6 months) were subjected to sexual abuse by the accused persons during the period of Magh Mela, 2025-26, at Prayagraj. It is alleged that the acts complained of were committed under the guise of religious service and discipleship. The applicant (Ashutosh Maharaj), who claimed that the alleged incident was disclosed to him by the victims, further alleged that the acts so complained of amount to penetrative sexual assault upon the victims. Upon taking note of the preliminary inquiry report submitted by the Commissioner of Police, Prayagraj, the court noted that the material disclosed "serious and specific accusations of aggravated penetrative sexual assault" against two minors. The court added that the allegations necessitate the medical examination of victims and accused persons, the collection and recovery of material evidence, the seizure and forensic examination of electronic and digital evidence, the verification of mobile location data, and the identification and tracing of unidentified individuals. The Special Judge stressed that the investigation of cognizable offences, particularly those of sexual assault upon children, is “primarily the statutory obligation of the State through its police machinery”. Observing that such tasks squarely fall within the domain of police investigation and cannot be effectively undertaken by the complainant or through the complaint procedure, the Special judge ordered the SHO of Police Station Jhunsi to register an FIR 'forthwith'. The court further directed that the investigation be conducted fairly, independently, and expeditiously. Thus, complying with the Court's order, the UP Police officially registered an FIR the same day at 23:37 hrs. The FIR formally names Avimukteshwaranand, his disciple, Mukundanand Brahmachari, and 2-3 unidentified individuals as accused. According to the FIR, the minors were kept under the pretext of education and service in a gurukul setting, where they were repeatedly sexually assaulted. The complaint explicitly alleged that disciples of the accused pressured the minors by stating "यह गुरु-सेवा है, इससे आशीर्वाद मिलेगा" (this is guru-seva, it will bring blessings). Following this, the FIR states that the minors were allegedly made to sleep naked and subjected to sexual assault. The FIR notes that the offences reportedly occurred over an extended period (January 13, 2025, to February 15, 2026), including incidents during the Magh Mela gatherings.

UP Police Invoke Serious POCSO Charges Against Swami Avimukteshwaranand In Late-Night FIR, Hours After Special Court Order

Sparsh Upadhyay

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