A 30-year-old pregnant woman who was allegedly molested by the chief priest (mukhya rawal) of Badrinath shrine, V Keshavan Namboodiri claimed that after the incident, the accused has apologised to her.
In her complaint, the victim has stated that soon after the incident chief priest sent her message saying “sorry”. Meanwhile, during the investigation, it has been revealed that Namboodiri had been staying in a Hotel Delight Inn which was booked by the one Manoj for him and submitted his identification papers. Police sources said Manoj is the driver of Niira Radia, the public relations lobbyist. Namboodiri had checked in on Sunday.
The family of the victim along with her husband owns a hotel in Badrinath, knew Namboodiri for the last 13 years, police said. On the basis of the victim’s complaint, a case was registered under Sections 354 (molestation), 342 (illegal confinement) and 34 of Indian Penal Code and the accused persons were apprehended from the hotel.
Police sources said that the accused, a native of Kerala arrived at the Capital on February 2 for three days and the victim’s father also knew the chief priest as he also owned a hotel in Badrinath. “He came to the Capital along with his 28-year-old cousin brother, Vishnu Pradhan for offering prayer of a prominent businessman in South Delhi. The accused called the victim on Monday around 4.15 pm and asked her to meet him. She initially refused but later he informed her that he was not well and asked her to come immediately,” the victim told the police in her complaint.
“On her way, the accused first messaged his room number to her. He also called her to know if she was coming alone or along with the driver. The accused was waiting for her outside the hotel. Since she was pregnant, he asked her to hold his arm, while walking up the stairs, but she refused. After reaching his room, he asked his younger brother Vishnu to go out. Vishnu shut the door while leaving the room and there were cigarette stubs and smell of liquor inside the room,” the victim said in her complaint, adding that she sat in a chair near the door.
Police said that the accused asked the victim to bring a glass of water and when she took the glass of water to him, he started misbehaving with her. “She screamed and rushed out of the room, and he followed her out of the room. She immediately informed her brother and later they informed the police about the matter at 7 pm after reaching at Mehrauli police station. The victim showed all the phone messages and call records. “After registering the case, police went to his room, took photographs, and took the priest to AIIMS for a breath analysis test. Even at AIIMS, he was unable to stand properly,” the officer added.
During interrogation, Namboodiri who is a Ph.d in Sanskrit denied all the allegations and claimed that the victim was constantly calling him after having an argument with her husband. “She was his devotee and she called him thrice on Monday afternoon and asked him to give her time for meeting. Initially, he scolded her but later he asked her to come at hotel,” he had told the interrogators. However, he admitted that he was drinking beer with his brother when she entered inside his room. “The accused said, she had left the room within a minute,” police sources informed.