MP: Bhopal drict court acquits Mirchi Baba in rape case

The Bhopal drict court on Wednesday acquitted Mahamandelshwar Swami Vairagya Nandgiri Maharaj popularly known as Mirchi Baba, in a rape case of a married woman, police said. (Representative Photo) Bhopal drict court justice Smrita Singh acquitted Vairagya in the absence of evidence, said defence lawyer Shrikrishna Dhaunsale. The self-styled godman was arrested for allegedly raping a woman devotee in Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal the Gwalior Crime Branch from Kalpi Bridge and was handed over to the Bhopal police on 9 August 2022. A case was regered against Mirchi Baba on August 8, 2022, based on a complaint of a woman from Raisen. He was arrested the next day and lodged in Bhopal Central Jail. According to the complaint, the accused godman had raped the woman in Bhopal on July 17. The self-proclaimed godman came to light in 2019 when he performed a yagna to ensure the win of Rajya Sabha leader Digvijaya Singh in the Lok Sabha Election from Bhopal against Pragya Thakur. After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power, he sat on a dharna against the BJP-led state government in 2021.