Pune Police Arrests Self Proclaimed Godman Rishikesh Vadiya, Accused of Decieving And Raping A Woman

Key Points:

Local media reports from Maharashtra are pouring in claiming the arrest of self-styled Godman Rishikesh Vaidya. The reports state that he was arrested late on Friday (March 27, 2026) night following a joint operation of various teams set out to apprehend him. He was arrested from the Pimpri area in Maharashtra. 

An FIR was registered against him based on a complaint by a 35-year-old woman who alleged that she was raped multiple times by him. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Pune, Nikhil Pingle, informed on Friday, March 27, 2026, that a case was booked against Rishikesh Vaidya at Hadapsar Police Station in Pune.

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A Web Of Deceit And Blackmail

DCP Pingle further said that the woman who accused him claimed she got to know about the self-proclaimed baba through social media around 2023. He further stated that the complainant is a devotee of Lord Mahadev and the accused lured her into a relationship stating that he was also a devotee of Mahadev. The accused then started to meet her personally, starting with his first visit in December 2023, he added.

Rishikesh Vaidya, 40 years old, allegedly deceived the woman, claiming he was an incarnation of Mahadev, and that the woman was his Parvati, Lord Mahadev’s companion. The Pune Police also stated that the accused later took her to a remote area in Pune, where he allegedly drugged her before raping her. The accused then took sensitive photographs during the act and used them to blackmail her later.

Hailing from Vasai, Maharashtra, Rishikesh Vaidya positioned himself as a prominent spiritual leader and even headed a local social organization named 'Aamchi Vasai'. The Pune Police Crime Branch has now deployed multiple teams to investigate if there are other women he exploited using this exact modus operandi. Furthermore, authorities have widened their net, bringing the accused's brother under the scanner to determine his potential involvement in these fraudulent activities.

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The Ashok Kharat Connection

This distressing case surfaced shortly after the shocking exposure of Ashok Kharat, another self-styled godman from Nashik who was recently arrested for sexual assault and financial fraud under a similar pretense of being a divine incarnation. The widespread public outrage and intense media coverage surrounding Kharat's crimes reportedly empowered the Pune victim, giving her the courage to finally break her silence and file the complaint that led to Vaidya's arrest.

(Rh/GP)

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