Court extends ‘godman’s’ police custody
By IANSMonday, March 8, 2010
NEW DELHI - A court Tuesday sent so-called godman Shiv Murat Dwivedi, accused of running a prostitution racket, to police custody for six more days.
Additional Sessions Judge S.K. Sarvaria accepted the police plea that it had to take Dwivedi, arrested with seven others including six women, from south Delhi Feb 26 to other places for investigation.
They submitted they needed to verify the contents of the website run by the godman.
A court Thursday sent Dwivedi, who has been booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), to police custody for five days.
Under MCOCA, an accused cannot apply for bail for six months and a deputy commissioner of police will record his confession which can be used as evidence in the court.
Dwivedi, 39, who belonged to Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh, came to New Delhi in 1988 and initially worked as a security guard. He was arrested on prostitution charges in 1997 and 1998.
He then changed his appearance and started calling himself Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale. Under the cloak of spirituality, he started a flourishing flesh trade racket.
