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| Narayan Sai |
A three-member Gujarat police team arrived in Ahiyari Uttari village on Thursday looking for Asaram Bapu’s son Narayan Sai, wanted in a sexual assault case, and his bodyguard, a local.
Kaushal Kumar Thakur, alias Hanuman (28), is a resident of Ahiyari Uttari village under the jurisdiction of Kamtaul police station, about 175km northeast of Patna. He left with Narayan when the latter was here in 2002 and works as his bodyguard now.
A rape victim had alleged in her FIR at Jahangirpura police station of Surat district in Gujarat, that she had been taken to Ahiyari Uttari village to work on an ashram being built there in 2002.
She accused Narayan of having harassed her in the village before being taken to Jaipur in Rajasthan and Kathmandu in Nepal.
Narayan remains absconding. His bodyguard Hanuman is not in touch with his family for the past month and had last visited during Holi in March. Narayan, too, had visited his Sant Shree Narayan Sai Ashram for Holi at that time.
The Gujarat police team, led by sub-inspector D.J. Dharwar and assisted by Kamtaul police, raided the bodyguard’s house on Thursday evening.
Kamtaul police station house officer Pankaj Kumar Pant said: “The Gujarat police team reached Kamtaul in search of rape accused Narayan and his bodyguard, Hanuman. It searched Hanuman’s house and elicited some information about the duo. The police are still in Kamtaul, hoping to collect more information. As soon as their inquiry is over, they would return to Gujarat.”
Former village head Dipak Kumar Thakur told The Telegraph: “Narayan first visited the village in 2002 and established the ashram here. During his 2002 visit, he took Hanuman with him, saying he would groom him. Whenever he came here, Narayan would visit the ashram accompanied by girls. These girls would do decoration work, cooking and washing. Nobody doubted Narayan’s character. He has visited the village in 2002, 2004 and 2013. Two Ahiyari Uttari residents donated a 2,000sqft plot on which the ashram was built within three months. A year later, Narayan paid residents the Rs 3 lakh they owed to different shops from which they had taken building material on credit.”
