Devendra Dubey and his disciple Bhagwandas Tiwari had allegedly accumulated a heap of cow dung in their ashram causing a lot of inconvenience to the locals.
A Kandivli godman and his disciple who were arrested by the Samta Nagar police on Friday for allegedly wrongfully confining 28 people, including 12 minors, had been arrested in January as well in a similar offence, investigation has revealed.
Devendra Dubey and his disciple Bhagwandas Tiwari had allegedly accumulated a heap of cow dung in their ashram causing a lot of inconvenience to the locals. Residents had then approached the police, after which the ashram in Thakur Complex was raided and 30 men were found held there and tortured under the pretext of religious rituals.
"This January, Dubey and Tiwari were arrested in a similar offence by the Samta Nagar police wherein they had wrongfully confined 30 men and tortured them to perform puja. They had then been booked for criminal intimidation, cheating and wrongful confinement among other Indian Penal Code sections," said investigating officer and sub-inspector Vinay Patil.
According to the police, a woman is involved, who helped the two to run the ashram and gather funds for it. Identified as Shweta Mali (40), she had taken the bungalow on rent, which was being used as an ashram, two years back and was helping Dubey and Tiwari get more disciples under the pretext of learning rituals and studying the scriptures.
The accused used to lure people with money; they would allegedly be woken up at 4am and made to take part in havans and pujas, which would go on till 11pm without break.
"We used to see the accused come out of the ashram to purchase groceries, but we never noticed any children or a follower," said a resident of the complex where the bungalow is situated.
Another local said, "When I once visited the ashram, I saw a 17-year-old, who had been beaten up badly, crying. He told me that he had made a mistake while reciting a mantra and, hence, had been thrashed. He also said everyone was made to do waterless fasts and continuous recitation of mantras throughout the day."
On Monday, the Borivli magistrate court sent the two to police custody till Tuesday.
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