Pune police arrested Radhamohan Mishra, 59, on June 17, 2026, on a complaint from a 41-year-old software engineer who says she was sexually, physically, and psychologically abused for 17 years by the director of the “Gurudev Sadhana Dham Trust” ashram in Kharadi, Pune, in the state of Maharashtra. Eight people were arrested in total, including Swami Kamwal Nayan, 58, and six female disciples. Police seized 23 pen drives containing what they describe as intimate videos of at least 35 couples.
Mishra told his followers he was a divine incarnation endowed with supernatural powers, according to Punekar News on June 17, 2026. The complainant, whose parents are both doctors, was brought into the ashram’s orbit in childhood, when her father began attending Swami Kamwal Nayan’s first ashram in Panchkula, in northern India. Mishra persuaded the family to finance the construction of a “modern gurukul” in Pune, where they relocated in 2010.
The sexual assaults, according to the complaint, began in 2013 and continued through 2016. The broader documented period of control runs from 2009 to 2026. When the victim resisted, Mishra administered electric shocks. He allegedly forced her to drink his urine, used explicit videos to blackmail her, pressured her to steal on behalf of the ashram, and attempted to fraudulently transfer her real estate assets to his name. Six female disciples are accused of actively facilitating the abuse, according to Punekar News on June 17, 2026.
The Pen Drives and the Tunnel
The June 17 raid recovered 23 pen drives. Preliminary examination revealed intimate videos of 35 couples. Police believe Mishra had instructed female disciples to record private moments with their husbands on their phones and transfer the footage to him via pen drive, according to Punekar News on June 19, 2026. Officers also seized 12 laptops, 11 mobile phones, 19 hard drives, Rs 6.5 lakh in cash (approximately USD 7,800), jewelry valued at approximately Rs 15 lakh (approximately USD 18,000), ten live cartridges, and a stockpile of medications, some of which were expired.
Investigators also found a tunnel under construction beneath the ashram compound. Police say Mishra ordered the project after another fake godman, Ashok Kharat, was arrested in Nashik — a city in the same state of Maharashtra — in a case that had recently made regional headlines. He was arrested before the tunnel could be completed. Twenty-five people were present at the ashram when police arrived, according to Punekar News on June 19, 2026.
Charges
The eight suspects face charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita — India’s penal code in force since July 2024 — including rape and criminal conspiracy, as well as violations of Maharashtra’s law against superstitious practices and black magic. At their first court appearance, all eight were remanded to police custody until June 20, 2026.
In June 2026, a court in Conakry, Guinea, convicted a man who presented himself as a marabout for raping a teenage girl whose hair he had kept to threaten her into silence. Police in Pune say they expect more victims to come forward as forensic analysis of the seized devices continues.
