Overview

• Prasad Bhimrao Tamdar was detained on June 26 by Bavdhan Police after complaints that he used the AirDroid Kid app to access followers’ phones and gather private data.
• Authorities say Tamdar exploited his status at a Bavdhan ashram to pressure at least four devotees into performing sexual acts and to extort ₹15,000 under the pretext of spiritual blessings.
• Police have booked him under Maharashtra’s anti-superstition and Information Technology laws, accusing him of cheating, sexual harassment and criminal intimidation.
• Seized from his custody, Tamdar’s mobile phone contains covertly recorded video clips, and investigators are scrutinizing other digital and cloud accounts for similar evidence.
• Officials have appealed to additional victims to step forward as the probe widens to fully reconstruct his cyber-enabled exploitation scheme.