Pune:
A 34-year-old spiritual guru Deepak Vishnu Lamkhande was arrested in Pune for allegedly sexually assaulting six boys who were staying at his ashram.
The arrest came after a 16-year-old boy living at Balakashram in Shivajivadi, Moshi, finally broke his silence and approached the Bhosari police station on Saturday to complain about sexual abuse.
Lamkhade was produced before a court at Morewadi in Pimpri and remanded in police custody till November 23.
Speaking to MiD DAY, the father of a 13-year-old boy said, "He should be hanged as he has cheated us and tortured our kids to satisfy his unnatural desire."
"He had told us that with his training the children would become expert kirtankars (religious chanters). But the caretaker was abusing these kids for the past two years," he added.
In their statements to the police, all five children at the ashram said Lamkhede would often call them to have unnatural sex with him and later threaten to beat them up if they told anyone.
The matter came to light when Lamkhade took the children to his hometown in Kelewadi and his wife asked the children about his conduct with them. A 16-year-old boy, a student of class X, narrated how Lamkhede abused them at night.
After returning to their respective villages, the children narrated the incident to their relatives who decided to lodge a police complaint.
Father of another 13-year-old boy at the ashram said, "Lamkhade ran away to Chakan when he realised what was coming. Ganesh Saste, the owner of the Balakashram, nabbed him in Chakan and handed him over him to the Bhosari police."