Investigating into the alleged sexual escapades of arrested self-styled godman Santosh Raul, the Crime Branch police on Friday preferred to record the statements of the woman medico under Section 164 (5) (a) of CrPC before a first class magistrate here. The 24-year final year MBBS student had allegedly accompanied the godman on a trip to Hyderabad in July this year and stayed with him in a hotel for three days.
The medico in a written complaint to police had alleged that she was coerced to accompany the godman to Hyderabad by threats of exposing a video clipping of her, recorded while
she was bathing in the lodge of the godman's ashram during a stay there. Naming four persons in her complaint, the girl had alleged that these four persons were previously associated with the godman but had fallen out later.
While the crime branch police had earlier recorded the statements of the medico in her house at Paradeep under section 161 of CrPC, she was brought here under police escort on the day for recording her statements before a woman magistrate under oath, which had been made mandatory under the Criminal law (Amendment) Act of 2013.
Meanwhile, the Crime Branch also interrogated the four persons named in the controversial medico's FIR for the second time on Friday and preferred to record the statements of one of them under oath before a magistrate.
It is learnt that the investigating cops have managed to lay their hands on certain documents corroborating the godman's trip to Hyderabad with the medico, which had been constantly denied by him. A police team is likely to go to Hyderabad on Monday in this connection, informed a crime branch source.
It is further learnt that the Crime Branch would produce Raul before the SDJM Court on Saturday as his remand period ended on Friday. He was taken on remand for six days in two phases after his arrest last week.