Pune Court denies puja material and religious texts to Rishikesh Vaidya Guruji

Case involving allegations by a Christian woman

Mumbai – Rishikesh Vaidya Guruji was arrested after a Christian woman accused him of sexual assault. He was taken into custody in Pimpri on 30th March. Earlier, on 1st March, the court had rejected his request for worship materials and religious texts in prison.

Following his arrest, his brother, Vedmurti Dhananjay Vaidya, along with legal counsel, addressed a press conference stating, “The allegations against Rishikesh Vaidya Guruji are entirely false. We will present our case in court.” A similar statement was also posted on Rishikesh Vaidya Guruji’s Facebook account, asserting that the accusations were baseless and that the truth would soon come to light.

Vaidya Guruji has been remanded to nine days of police custody. Prior to this, a hearing at the Cantonment Court in Pune saw strong arguments from both the prosecution and the defence.

The defence denied all allegations, maintaining that the case is fabricated. Regarding the claim, that the incident took place at a lodge, they argued that no sexual assault occurred and called for verification of CCTV footage. The lawyers also emphasised that the accused is a religious preacher with a clean background.

Vedmurti Dhananjay Vaidya further stated that drawing comparisons with the Bhondoo Kharat case is inappropriate and expressed confidence that the truth would emerge with supporting evidence. The defence also told the court that the woman had connected with the accused through Facebook, initiated contact herself, and allegedly attempted to provoke him.