A special POCSO court in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, has directed the SHO of the Jhunsi Police Station to file a formal complaint against Swami Avimukteshwaran and Saraswati in order to look into claims of sexual abuse of boys.
Following the filing of a formal complaint alleging child sexual assault against Swami Avimukteshwaranand, the Shankaracharya of Jyotirpeeth, the Prayagraj Police have stepped up their probe.
After reviewing the evidence and recording the statements of the victims, known as batooks, or the boys, at the ashram, Vidya Math, the court of Special Judge (POCSO Act) Vinod Kumar Chaurasia postponed making a decision last week on an application filed by Ashutosh Brahmachari Maharaj and others under Section 173(4) of the BNS.
On Monday, Jyotish Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati vehemently denied claims that he and his group were sexually exploited.
Those boys never studied in our Gurukul, and we have nothing to do with them, he claimed. According to the marksheets they provided in the case, they are pupils at a school in Hardoi. Therefore, how can anyone harm them when they have never been here and have nothing to do with this place?
The Shankaracharya further charged that some people were attempting to undermine Hindu organizations from inside and were causing confusion.
We won’t resist the cops, even if they try to arrest us. We’ll work together. Everything is being watched by the public. Eventually, the lies are revealed. If not today, then tomorrow, then the day after, the story will be shown to be untrue. Your cameras were within range of us.
CCTV records everything surrounding our camp. Confusion is still being disseminated by saying, Here’s a CD. What’s the reason behind not making it public? We won’t resist the police even if they try to arrest us. We’ll work together. According to him, lies are finally exposed because the public is observing everything.
The remarks were made the day after three unnamed people, Jyotish Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand, and his pupil Mukundanand Brahmachari were charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POSCO) Act.
Following instructions from Special Judge Vinod Kumar Chaurasia, the FIR was lodged at the Jhunsi police station in response to a plea submitted by Shankuri Peethadheshwar Ashutosh Maharaj, a plaintiff in the Krishna Janmabhoomi Shahi Eidgah dispute.
The complaint claimed that two young boys were sexually exploited at his camp during the 2025 Magh Mela and Maha Kumbh, citing Sections 3, 4(2), 6, 16, 17, and 51 of the POSCO Act and Section 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
The FIR registration was confirmed by Prayagraj police, who also stated that the probe will involve gathering and forensic analysis of digital and electronic evidence. Preliminary investigation is now on in this case.
The accusations made against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act were earlier rejected by Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati on Saturday, who described them as false. He added that on Saturday, his legal team had already presented this position to the court.
The religious leader claimed in an interview with news agency ANI that Ashutosh Brahmachari, the complainant, is a registered history sheeter at the Kandhla police station in the Shamli region of Uttar Pradesh and has a history of making false accusations against others.
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The woman gestured in denial and said, “Bhagwati is with you”. The Shankaracharya replied, “Governments want such Shankaracharyas who engage in sycophancy, who say what the government wants and speak as instructed. But we cannot become those who merely comply.”
Image Courtesy: WikiMedia
