Radhe Maa gets two weeks’ HC reprieve

IANS/MumbaiThe Bombay high court yesterday granted interim pre-arrest bail to controversial self-styled “godwoman” Sukhwindar Kaur alias Mamtamai Shri Radhe Guru Maa in an alleged dowry abetment case.The relief came a day after the sessions court rejected a plea by Radhe Maa, as she is popularly known, for anticipatory bail to pre-empt possible arrest.She moved the high court where Justice Mridula Bhatkar granted her temporary protection from arrest for two weeks, but ordered her to go to the police station on August 19 and 26 to co-operate with the ongoing probe into the case.Following a complaint of dowry harassment and abetment lodged by a 32-year-old housewife, Mumbai Police booked Radhe Maa and six others while a Borivali magistrate ordered a probe into the matter.Arguing for Radhe Maa, her counsel Abad Ponda pointed out that all six accused in the case were granted protection except his client (Radhe Maa).Ponda further said the allegation of instigating the family to extract more dowry from the woman complainant was an “after thought” since this accusation was not made in the proceedings before the family court two years ago.Rejecting all allegations against her and claiming a “frame-up”, Radhe Maa has contended she was dragged into the matter only because the woman complainant’s in-laws were her disciples.Last Sunday, police in Kandivali served summons ordering her to appear before them for investigations in the dowry harassment case, which she complied with this afternoon.“She was questioned in detail for around two-and-a-half hours today. We shall now examine her statements before deciding the future course of action,” a police official told the media.Earlier, attired in her trademark red and gold clothes, Radhe Maa reached the police station in north-west suburban Mumbai accompanied by her close aides Chhoti Maa and Sanjeev Gupta.A large number of supporters, many of them weeping, gathered near the police station yesterday morning and when they attempted to follow her inside the station house they were stopped by the security personnel.Wielding a ‘trishul’ and blessing her devotees, Radhe Maa alighted from her dark SUV and was quickly whisked away by a police posse waiting for her.She is the latest in a long line of popular gurus to run into legal problems.Named after Lord Krishna’s consort, Radhe Ma, 50, is one of modern India’s many self-styled “godpeople” who command legions of followers including politicians and Bollywood personalities.For her thousands of followers, Radhe Ma is a miracle worker. She blesses her devotees by allowing them to kiss her hand and carry her, and is known to dance with her congregation at religious events.Radhe Ma has been criticised by religious conservatives after she was filmed dancing in a short skirt.She has denied all accusations and said she is “pure and pious”. None of her close aides, listed on her website, answered Reuters’ calls for comment.India is a secular country with a largely Hindu faith. Self styled “godpeople” are common but there have been repeated instances where many such leaders have broken the law.Asaram Bapu, a “godman” of national fame, is now in jail on charges of sexually assaulting an underage girl.Swami Nithyananda was booked for raping his female followers, and Chandraswami, famous for his closeness to former prime minister Narsimha Rao, was arrested for swindling about $100,000 from a London businessman.