Palghar 'godman' accused of rape held in Pune
Pune (PTI): A self-styled godman from Maharashtra's Palghar district who allegedly raped a 35-year-old woman after claiming to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva has been arrested in Pune, police said on Saturday.
The 40-year-old accused, Hrishikesh Vaidya, was apprehended from the Pimpri area on Friday, an official said.
According to the police, the woman had gathered the courage to lodge a complaint against Vasai-based Vaidya after the recent arrest of self-styled godman Ashok Kharat in a rape case in Nashik.
However, Vaidya, in a social media post, has denied the allegations against him and claimed a false case had been registered against him.
As the primary offence allegedly took place in Pune, the Manikpur police in Vasai registered a 'Zero FIR' on Wednesday before transferring the probe to the Hadapsar police station in Pune for further investigation.
A zero FIR is a first information report that can be filed at any police station in India, regardless of where the crime occurred or which station has jurisdiction.
Police said that the woman first came in contact with the accused on Facebook in 2023.
"In December 2023, the accused visited Pune to meet her. He allegedly deceived her by claiming he was an incarnation of Mahadev (Lord Shiva) and that she was his 'Parvati," an official said, citing the FIR.
The complainant alleged that the man took her to a lodge in the Manjari area of Pune, where he administered a numbing substance before raping her. During the assault, the accused allegedly took photographs of the woman without her knowledge.
The woman told the police that the accused, who runs a social organisation in Palghar district, used the photographs to blackmail her. In May last year, he allegedly called her to a hotel at Vasai in Palghar, where he again attempted to sexually assault her.
"Teams were formed to nab Vaidya. We received information about his whereabouts and apprehended him from the Pimpri area," a senior officer of the Pune police said.
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2,643 people killed in accidents in HP in past three years
Shimla (PTI): Road accidents claimed 2,643 lives in Himachal Pradesh in the past three years, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu informed the Assembly on Saturday.
In a written reply to a question from MLA Bhuvneshwar Gaur, the chief minister said that 9,999 people sustained injuries in 6,515 road accidents in the state in the last three years till January 31, 2026.
Over-speeding, drunk driving, use of mobile phones while driving, negligent driving and poor road conditions were the leading reasons for the accidents, he added.
Shimla district recorded the highest accidents over the last three years -- 300 in 2023, 320 in 2024, 270 in 2025.
Sukhu said that several measures, including the installation of 108 Intelligent Traffic Management System, enforcement drives against traffic violations and challans for over-speeding and rash driving, have been taken to check road accidents.
