Falahari Baba

Last updated
Falahari Baba
Born
Gautam Mishra [1]
NationalityIndian
Other namesSwami Kaushlendra Prapannachari Falahari Maharaj
OccupationSpiritual leader, preacher
Criminal statusIn Prison
Children1
Criminal charge Rape
Penalty Life imprisonment
Date apprehended
September 23, 2017 [2]

Falahari Baba, also known as Falahari Maharaj (born as Gautam Mishra [1] ), is a self-styled godman, [3] [4] who has been convicted for raping a 21 year-old woman and sentenced to life imprisonment. [5] He is listed in the second list of "fake spiritual leaders" released by Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, the apex body of Hindu sadhus. [6]

Contents

Life

His full name is Swami Kaushlendra Prapannachari Falahari Maharaj. He studied up to class XII and also holds an ITI certificate course from Allahabad. He left his home and came to Alwar, Rajasthan in the 1990s. [7] Falahari is married and has a daughter. [1]

He dubbed "Falahari" (meaning fruit eater) because, he survived by only eating fruits, reportedly. [1] He is reported to be 60 years old by The Times of India [8] and 70 years old by The Free Press Journal, [9] as of September 2017. He is associated with Ramanuja sampradaya.

He has been photographed with top political leaders and celebrities including prime minister Narendra Modi, home minister Rajnath Singh, the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia. [10]

He owns an Ashram in Alwar, called Venkatesh Divya Balaji Dham Ashram and also run Goshala in Alwar. In July, 2017, he had also attended to the Saint Sangam of BJP organized in Jaipur. [11]

Rape case and conviction

In September 2017, an FIR was lodged by the victim against Baba at Mahila police station of Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. He was arrested on September 23, 2017, in Alwar. [8] International Business Times reported, the victim said in the complaint that following the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, she got courage and decided to report the matter to the police. [12]

He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by Additional District court of Alwar on September 27, 2018. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

Neem Karoli Baba Hindu guru (c.1900–1973)

Neem Karoli Baba or Neeb Karori Baba, known to his followers as Maharaj ji, was a Hindu guru and a devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman. He is known outside India for being the spiritual master of a number of Americans who travelled to India in the 1960s and 70s, the most well-known being the spiritual teachers Ram Dass and Bhagavan Das, and the musicians Krishna Das and Jai Uttal. His ashrams are in Kainchi, Vrindavan, Rishikesh, Shimla, Neem Karoli village near Khimasepur in Firozabad, Bhumiadhar, Hanumangarhi, Lucknow, Delhi in India and in Taos, New Mexico, US.

Sirsa City in Haryana, India

Sirsa is a city and a municipal council in Sirsa district in the westernmost region of the Indian state of Haryana, bordering Punjab and Rajasthan. It is located 260 kilometres north-west of New Delhi and 240 kilometres from state capital Chandigarh. Its history dates back to the time of the Mahabharata. At one time, the Sarasvati River flowed in this area.

Asaram Indian spiritual leader and rape convict

Asumal Sirumalani Harpalani, known by devotees as Asaram Bapu, is an Indian, religious leader who started to come into the limelight in the early 1970s and had by 2013 claimed to have established over 400 ashrams in India and abroad.

Dera Sacha Sauda

Dera Sacha Sauda is an Indian non-governmental organization described as a "religious cult" and "non-profit social welfare dera" that was established on 29 April 1948 by Mastana Balochistani, an ascetic follower of Baba Sawan Singh, as a centre for religious learning. After Baba Sawan Singh, the movement split into four groups, one of them led by Mastana Balochistani. After the death of Mastana Balochistani, his movement was split into three groups, with Satnam Singh leading the Sirsa group, who selected Gurmeet Ram Rahim to be his successor. Dera Sacha Sauda's main centre is situated in the city of Sirsa in Haryana state, northern India. The organisation has 46 ashrams (divisions) across India and other countries.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Former social reformer, preacher, and spiritual leader who was convicted of murder and rape.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan is the head of the Indian social group Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) since 1990. Prior to a 2017 rape conviction, he was a religious leader, actor, singer, writer, songwriter, director, and composer. He was also convicted of being involved in the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.

Baba Umad Singh was a spiritual leader who lived in Rajasthan, India in the early 19th century. He is regarded as a local deity ("lok-devta").

Mastana Balochistani was an Indian saint and the founder of the socio-spiritual organization Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) on 29 April 1948 in Sirsa. He was originally from Balochistan, and later moved to Sirsa.

Narayan Sai

Narayan Sai, also known as Narayan Prem Sai is the son of Asaram. He and his father are serving life in prison for rape and other crimes. He was mentioned in a list of fake sadhus released by Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, the apex organisation of Hindu Sants (saints) and Sadhus (ascetics) in India.

Mahant Chandnath

Mahant Chandnath was an Indian politician and religious leader. He represented the Alwar Seat in the Parliament of India and was also the head of the Nath sect of Hinduism. He took deeksha from Mahant Shreyonath in 1978.

Swami Sachchidanand Hari Sakshi Ji Maharaj, also known as Sakshi Maharaj, is an Indian political and religious leader belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party. He won the 2014 general election from Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. He also won Indian general election in 1991 from Mathura, 1996 and 1998 from Farrukhabad. He was also a member of Rajya Sabha from 2000 to 2006, before being suspended for corruption. He holds a PhD degree and runs various educational institutions and ashrams across India under the banner of Sakshi Maharaj Group for which he is also serving as its present director.

Rampal Indian religious leader jailed for murder

Rampal is a convicted Indian religious leader (godman), who claims to be spiritual successor and an incarnation of Kabir. He is currently under a life sentence for murder in the Hisar Central jail.

Imran Khan (web developer)

Mohammad Imran Khan is an Indian teacher, Mobile app developer and educator from Alwar, Rajasthan. He is a mathematics teacher in the Sanskrit Education Department and a self-taught computer programmer. He has developed over 80 educational mobile applications and more than a hundred websites.

<i>MSG: The Warrior Lion Heart</i>

MSG The Warrior Lion Heart is a 2016 Indian science fantasy adventure film co-directed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and his daughter Honeypreet Insan. The film starring Singh, one of the directors himself, is a story of a medieval warrior fighting against aliens for the honour of his land.

<i>Hind Ka Napak Ko Jawab: MSG Lion Heart 2</i>

Hind Ka Napak Ko Jawab: MSG Lion Heart 2 is a 2017 Indian faith-based action thriller film co-directed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and his daughter, Honeypreet Insan. It is a direct sequel to MSG The Warrior Lion Heart (2016) and the fourth installment in the franchise started by MSG: The Messenger (2015). Based on the 2016 Uri attack and 2016 India–Pakistan military confrontation, the film stars Singh and Insan.

Jattu Engineer is a 2017 Indian Punjabi-language comedy horror film directed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and Honeypreet Insan, and starring Singh. The film was released on 19 May 2017.

2017 Northern India riots

On 25 August 2017, widespread rioting in northern India broke out after Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the religious leader of Dera Sacha Sauda, was convicted of rape. The riots began in Panchkula and later spread to other parts of the northern Indian states of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and the capital, New Delhi. At least 41 people were killed, the majority of them in Panchkula, where 32 people were allegedly killed by police gunfire. More than 300 others were injured.

Ram Chander Chhatrapati was an Indian journalist who was murdered in 2002. Chhatrapati ran a local Hindi-language evening daily Poora Sach in Sirsa, Haryana. Chhatrapati was the journalist who published the anonymous letter accusing Dera Sacha Sauda leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of rape, of which he would later be found guilty. On the night of 24 October, two men riding a motorcycle shot Chhatrapati at point-blank range outside his residence. The journalist succumbed to his injuries four weeks later. Ram Rahim was convicted for his role in the murder on 11 January 2019 and was sentenced to life imprisonment by Special CBI Court on 17 January 2019.

Baba Mukhteshwar Puri was a much revered Hindu Yogi, Saint, and theologist whose (मठ) Matha was situated in Kosli. Baba Mukhteshwar Puri was 4th saint of the Kosli math. He lived in 12th century A.D. and practiced meditation throughout his life, which bestowed him with great vision and divine power. The enlightened soul is also called Gusai ji(गुसाईं जी ). All communities in & around Kosli still worship him. He is the prime deity of कोसलिया Kausaliya Yadav people, who are descendants of Kaushal/Kosal Dev Singh.

Mahant Balaknath Indian Parliamentarian & Spiritual Leader of Nath Sect

Mahant Balaknath is an Indian politician and current Member of Parliament from Alwar Lok Sabha constituency in Rajasthan. He is Chancellor of the Baba Mast Nath University (BMU). He is also 8th chief/ Mahant of the Nath sect of Hinduism. On 29 July 2016, Mahant Chandnath declared Balaknath as his successor in a ceremony which was attended by Yogi Adityanath and Baba Ramdev.

Baba Raghav Das Indian freedom fighter

Baba Raghav Das, popularly known as the Gandhi of Poorvanchal, was an Indian guru, freedom fighter, reformer, philosopher, member of parliament, and an activist. He is best known for his social contributions. The government of India released a postage stamp in his honour in 1998.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Mehta, Ashish; Sharma, Rajendra (September 25, 2017). "Test confirms Falahari Baba is virile, police to file chargesheet in rape case". The Times of India .
  2. Kumari Singh, Harsha; Jacob, Jimmy (September 23, 2017). "Rajasthan's "Falahari Baba" Faces Life Behind Bars For Raping Law Student". NDTV.
  3. Kumar, Ashok (September 26, 2017). "'Didn't believe stories against Baba'". The Hindu .
  4. Zahoor, Taha (July 2018). "India's Unholy Godmen". Themediaproject.org.
  5. "Self-styled guru 'Falahari Baba' sentenced to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting 21-year-old". Times Now. September 26, 2018.
  6. Faraz Ahmad, Qazi (April 2, 2018). "All India Akhada Parishad Releases Fourth List of Fake Babas". News 18.
  7. Sharma, Rajendra (December 16, 2017). "Falahari Baba charged with rape, intimidation". The Times of India .
  8. 1 2 "Final arguments in Falahari Baba case to begin from September 15". The Times of India . September 18, 2018.
  9. Khan, Salman (September 21, 2017). "Rajasthan: 70-year-old godman Falahari Baba charged for rape; admitted to hospital". The Free Press Journal.
  10. 1 2 "Life-term for rape accused Falahari baba whose photos with PM Modi, others went viral". Siasat. September 27, 2018.
  11. "कौन हैं फलाहारी बाबा, जिन पर है रेप का आरोप". BBC News (in Hindi).
  12. Ghosh, Sriparna (September 21, 2017). "Ram Rahim effect: Law student breaks silence, accuses Falahari Baba of rape". International Business Times .