Overview

• A national-level Taekwondo athlete says she was offered a sedative-laced laddoo at a Kanpur ashram in January before being gang-raped by the mahant, Govind Mahto, and others.
• The Kanpur FIR was lodged four months after the alleged assault amid fears of political retribution, and police have examined a viral video and inspected the ashram room shown in it.
• Priests from the Kanpur ashram have provided photos and videos claiming they were at Prayagraj’s Kumbh during the incident, and those materials are under police scrutiny.
• In Ghaziabad, two women Sadhvis were arrested for allegedly facilitating the drugging, rape and blackmail of another sadhvi at Gurukul Shantidham ashram in late April.
• The principal accused in both Kanpur and Ghaziabad cases, identified as Gokul, remains unapprehended with investigators following leads including a possible flight to Assam.