Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati (PTI Image)
NEW DELHI: A special POCSO court in Prayagraj on Saturday directed the police to register an FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and his disciple Swami Mukundanand Giri in connection with allegations of sexual exploitation.ADJ (POCSO Act) Vinod Kumar ordered Chaurasia to register an FIR and conduct a detailed investigation into the matter. The case will be registered at Jhunsi police station following the court’s directions. The application under Section 173(4) was filed by Shakumbhari Pithadheshwar Ashutosh Brahmachari Maharaj, seeking strict action, news agency ANI reported.
The move comes amid controversy surrounding Swami Avimukteshwaran and Saraswati.
Last month, the seer claimed that he was prevented from taking a Sangam ritual bath during the Magh Mela in Prayagraj, prompting him to stage an 11-day protest sit-in. Speaking to reporters in Varanasi, he said: “When I sat there for 11 days, no official asked me to swim. Now it is too late. I will go to Magh Mela next year and take a decent bath.”
“The forecaster also urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to stop beef exports from the state and declare the cow as ‘Rajya Mata’, calling it a measure of the government’s commitment to being ‘Hindu sympathetic’.
The controversy dates back to January 18, when officials asked Swami Avimukteswaranand, who was traveling in a palanquin to Sangam for Mauni Amavasya, to get off the carriage and proceed on foot due to dense crowds. Mela’s administration claimed that his supporters broke a barricade on a pontoon bridge, causing crowd management problems.Following the incident, the seer protested outside the Shankaracharya camp, demanding an apology and a dignified accompaniment to the ritual bath.
The administration also issued a notice questioning his use of the title Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth, citing a pending civil appeal before the Supreme Court.The dispute sparked political and administrative reactions. Prashant Kumar Singh, deputy commissioner of Uttar Pradesh’s GST administration, resigned on moral grounds, and Bareilly city magistrate Alankar Agnihotri also resigned, highlighting concerns over the alleged insult to the seer. The Congress Party announced a campaign against the insult and asked the state governor to take the matter into consideration on his own.
