The head of the Gurukul and a teacher in Maharashtra have been accused of sexually assaulting a minor female student at the campus. Bhagwan Kokare Maharaj, head of Warkari Gurukul in Ratnagiri district and teacher, Pritesh Prabhakar Kadam, are accused of molesting a student. A case has been registered against the two accused.
Boys and girls from several parts of Maharashtra enrol themselves in the Gurukul to receive spiritual education. The victim, too, had come for it. She got the admission on June 12, and the first eight days went well until Kokare began to assault the girl.
"Whenever I was alone in the room, he would walk in, punch me, and touch my chest," said the victim. This was the beginning of the sexual assault.
The complainant alleged that she was threatened with dire consequences, preventing her from speaking out.
"Pritesh Prabhakar Kadam warned me against speaking out, cautioning that Kokare's contacts and connections could be leveraged to implicate my father, and kill me and my brother. I was told I would be barred from pursuing my education," the victim added.
But on Monday, the girl opened up to her father and detailed the ordeal, following which a police complaint was filed. A case has been registered under sections 12 and 17 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, amounting to sexual harassment and abetment of a sexual offence against a child.
The accused have been arrested and are in two-day police custody.
Bhaskar Jadhav, an MLA affiliated with the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena, has voiced suspicion that more girls might have been victims of the assault.
Shiv Sena leader also pointed out that he would expose the politicians affiliated with Kokare and who visited him.
