Jailed Gujarat Sadhvi Goes To Spa, Sees 'Baahubali 2' Before Escaping

Ahmedabad: Out of jail on a brief parole for a medical check-up, a self-styled sadhvi gave the Ahmedabad police a slip on Thursday, but not before going to a spa for massage and watching Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.

Four young policemen, who completed their training just a few months earlier, have been arrested for negligence along with her lawyer. The policemen were tasked to guard her during her parole for getting a medical check-up done at a private hospital.

But she persuaded them to let her take a break and walked into a mall. According to the police, Sadhvi Jai Shree Giri as she is known, could be persuasive when she wanted.

The 45-year-old sadhvi, or a woman religious preacher, was arrested in January this year from north Gujarat's Banskantha district for an unpaid bill of Rs 5 crore for gold biscuits that she had bought from a jeweller in November.

Giri, who also heads a trust that runs a temple in the district, had allegedly convinced the jeweller to sell the gold on a deferred payment basis. In a raid at her ashram, the police had found 24 gold bars worth about Rs 80 lakh and Rs 1.29 crore in cash apart from alcohol bottles. Gujarat is a dry state.

On Thursday, the police said Giri walked into the mall escorted by her lawyer after her check-up. After a massage, she went for a movie and subsequently under the pretext of going to a washroom fled.

"She went for a massage in Himalayan Mall, and watched Baahubali 2. She was also continuously on phone seeking to know if her parole could be extended," JK Bhatt, Joint Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad Crime Branch, said.

She escaped after figuring that her parole would not be extended, Mr Bhatt said.

There were policemen deputed to guard her. But, Mr Bhatt, she gave an impression "that she wouldn't go anywhere". And they thought she will keep her word. "The policemen who guarded her had joined the force just a few months ago," the senior officer said.