Ashutosh Brahmchari, who had filed a case against Jyotirmath shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati accusing him of sexually exploiting students at his ashram, was allegedly attacked with a razor on a moving train on Sunday.

Brahmchari has accused Dinesh Falahari, a sadhu from Mathura, and Avimukteshwaranand of orchestrating the attack. “I had filed a case against Avimukteshwaranand for molesting two batuks (children who learn Sanskrit in ashrams). This had angered Falahari, who had announced a reward of ₹21 lakh for someone who cuts my nose,” Brahmchari told reporters in Allahabad after filing a case against the unidentified attacker, Falahari, Avimukteshwaranand and his disciple Swami Balmukund.

Brahmchari said he had boarded the Rewa Express from Ghaziabad to travel to Allahabad. “I went to the toilet around 5am when the train was approaching Kaushambi. As soon as I came out, a man attacked me and tried to slit my nose with a razor. I somehow pushed him away and locked myself in the bathroom,” he said.

In Mathura, Falahari told reporters that Brahmchari was a “criminal and pervert”.

“He has already filed false cases against 106 people in Shamli and extorted money from them. He assaulted two children himself and implicated the shankaracharya in a false case,” Falahari added.