Minor boy molested at Satlok Ashram in Haryana; accused held

You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

A minor boy was sexually assaulted at self-styled preacher “Sant” Rampal’s Satlok Ashram at Sonipat in Haryana and the accused has been arrested, according to police.

Sachin, a resident of Kasandi village, was arrested on September 24 and produced before a court, which remanded him in judicial custody, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Gohana) Jitender Gehlawat told reporters.

According to the police, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) chairperson informed the Baroda police on September 23 about the alleged incident involving the minor, who had come to the ashram in Dhanana. A police team took the child into protective care along with his father. The child was later taken to a hospital in Khanpur Kalan for counselling and medical and legal procedures. During counselling, he provided information about the alleged incident, police said.

Based on the statement of the child’s father and the information received from the CWC, a case was registered at the Baroda police station on September 24 under Section 74 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

The police said the accused was questioned following his arrest and further legal proceedings were initiated as per law.

The 74-year-old sect leader, Rampal, had walked out of the jail in April this year after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail in a sedition case, registered in connection with the clashes between his supporters and the police at Satlok Ashram in Hisar’s Barwala in 2014.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.