Indian 'yoga guru' held in Australia for assaulting two women
Melbourne, May 8: A self-proclaimed spiritual leader from India has been arrested and remanded in custody in Australia for allegedly assaulting two women who invited him to their homes for prayers in Sydney.
Anand Giri, 38, was arrested from the western suburb of Oxley Park in Sydney early on Sunday and was subsequently charged with two counts of committing an act of indecency on two women on separate occasions, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) news website reported.
He was due to fly overseas on Monday after completing a six-week spiritual teaching tour.
According to the New South Wales police, the man attended a house in Rooty Hill to participate in Hindu prayers on New Year's Day in 2016 where he met a 29-year-old woman and allegedly assaulted her in a bedroom.
"While in the bedroom of the home, the man has allegedly indecently assaulted the woman," police said in a statement.
It was also alleged that the accused man also attended a home in Rooty Hill in 2018 where he met a 34-year-old woman in the lounge room of the home for prayers and indecently assaulted her.
Police said that officers from Mt Druitt Police Area Command were notified and commenced investigations.
After being denied bail over concerns that "more women victims could be at risk if released", he was remanded in custody.
He will appear at Mt Druitt Local Court on June 26.
Both the complainants were known to the 'yogi', police said.
Giri hails from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh.
According to his website, the primary objective of his life is to "provide life solutions to people and to be a change agent in the society".
He organises several spiritual teaching lessons and yoga classes throughout the year in India and abroad.
He is a graduate and is currently pursuing his doctorate in Yoga Tantra, according to his website.
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2 drown, 4 missing after boat capsizes in Yamuna in UP's Hamirpur
Hamirpur (UP) (PTI): Two persons, including a child, drowned and four went missing went missing after a boat capsized in the Yamuna river here, police said on Thursday.
They said the incident took place on Wednesday evening in Kutubpur Patiya hamlet under Bhauli gram panchayat in the Kurara police station area when nine people, not including the boatman, were returning from a river island.
According to police, the boat lost balance in the middle of the river and capsized around 7 pm.
The boatman, Dheeru, managed to rescue three people -- Vishnu, Rinku and Parul.
The remaining six --five children and a woman-- Akanksha (9), Rani (9), Brijrani (25), Labhyansh (5), Mahesh (6), and Aditya (11) -- went missing, police said.
Later on Thursday, rescue teams recovered the bodies of Akanksha and Brijrani (25.
SHO, Brijesh Kumar said that due to heavy rain since the morning, teams are facing difficulties in rescue operation.
District Magistrate Abhishek Goyal said a search for the missing is being conducted by teams of the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force.
Taking cognisance of the incident, Chief Minister Adityanath has directed the district administration to investigate the cause of the accident and put in place effective measures to prevent such incidents in future.
He has directed senior police and administrative officials to immediately reach the spot and ensure relief and rescue operations on a war footing, an official statement said.
Adityanath has called for rescue efforts to be intensified to trace the missing persons at the earliest and warned that any negligence in the matter would not be tolerated, it added.
The chief minister also instructed senior district officials to personally monitor the rescue operations and ensure all possible assistance to the affected families.
BJP MLA from Hamirpur Manoj Prajapati said attempts are on to trace the missing. "We will ensure compensation to the affected families in accordance with the rules and submit a report to the chief minister on the incident," he said.
