NEW DELHI: A self-styled godman, who allegedly duped people by claiming to perform occult rituals, was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing women and minor girls, filming them in an obscene manner and selling the video clips, police said on Sunday.The accused, identified as Vijayaraja (50), was running an occult rituals centre named ‘Saneeswara’ at Vazhapadi near here. Police said he allegedly filmed women and girls secretly under the pretext of performing rituals and distributed the footage through dark web forums.The crime came to light when Vijayaraja allegedly attempted to molest a schoolgirl who had approached him to collect donations for the Vinayagar Chaturthi festival.The frightened girl informed her parents, following which a group of family members and local youths reached the ritual centre. On seeing the approaching crowd, Vijayaraja locked the premises and fled.After an intensive search, locals traced him to a nearby hiding place, restrained him and handed him over to Vazhapadi police.Police said a laptop recovered from him contained more than 50 videos of women and schoolgirls, purportedly showing them in an obscene manner.According to police, Vijayaraja allegedly filmed the women without their knowledge after giving them drinking water or eatables laced with sedatives in the form of prasad.Police said Vijayaraja had previously worked at a utensil manufacturing unit, which later folded up. He then allegedly began falsely claiming that he was a “godman and practitioner of occult rituals”.Using hidden cameras, he allegedly recorded his victims in an obscene manner. Police also alleged that he sexually abused several women while they were in an incapacitated state.During interrogation, Vijayaraja allegedly confessed that a portal had offered to pay him for such videos. He allegedly filmed the victims and sent the footage to the website, police said.Police have registered a case against him under relevant sections of the law and are investigating whether more people or networks were involved in the crime.His mobile phone and digital storage devices have also been seized, and a detailed investigation is underway.(With Agency Inputs)
