AHMEDABAD: A sessions court in Surat on Friday convicted Jain monk Shantisagar in a rape case from eight years ago. The Additional Sessions Judge’s Court sentenced the monk, who has remained in jail since October 2017, to an 10 years in prison on Saturday. Only two and a half years remain till the completion of his sentence. Shantisagar was found guilty of raping a 19-year-old Vadodara devotee under the pretext of performing Tantric rituals at a Jain shrine in Timliyawad, Surat, in 2017; he was 49-years-old then. In addition to the survivor’s testimony, medical reports and statements from 32 witnesses further strengthened the prosecution. According to the complaint, the 19-year-old survivor, originally from Madhya Pradesh and residing in Vadodara, visited the Jain Digambar temple in Timliyawad with her parents on October 1, 2017. The family had willingly traveled to Surat for the ‘ceremony’ after watching the monk’s sermon. Upon reaching the temple, Shantisagar claimed that the ceremony was to be conducted overnight and made the family stay there. According to the survivor’s police statement, Shaktisagar allegedly began the assault by trapping the family in a false ritual where they were made to sit in a sandalwood-drawn circle and chant mantras, forbidden from moving without the monk’s permission. Shaktisagar repeatedly demanded the girl to send him intimate pictures to ‘prepare.’ “Consider me your friend. Nude photos are necessary for the ceremony,” he had said.Later, he arranged a hammock for the parents and a separate room for the brother. He lured the girl into separate room and threatened her to comply; “Have you seen your parents happy? Then do as I say, or they will die,” he said. The girl, a college student at that time, lost consciousness due to severe pain in her stomach and genitals after being raped. The survivor’s decision to speak has brought to light the Shantisagar’s sinister abuse of his apparent spiritual authority.
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