Sura Baba in soup over rape charge

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Bhubaneswar: The controversial self-proclaimed godman Sura Baba alias Surendranath Mishra who is out on bail has again been booked in a sexual assault case.
Balipatna police registered a case on the basis of a complaint filed by a girl against Sura Baba and four others including her fiancé. The police swung into action immediately after receiving the complaint and summoned the Baba for interrogation. The cops, however, denied media reports that the godman was detained.
A native of Belguntha in Ganjam district, the girl alleged she was taken to Trahi Achyuta Ashram at Jhinti Sasan by her fiancé Deep Sundar Swain and his mother in the wee hours of January 24, on the pretext of performing some rituals.
The Baba, it is alleged, took the girl into his private chamber where he outraged her modesty. The victim in her complaint said Deep Sundar and his mother also helped the Baba in perpetrating the assault.
Police have registered a case (33/19) under Sections 341, 323, 354, 506 and 34 of the IPC. Inspector In-Charge of Balipatana police station Akash Rana told Orissa POST that the victim has accused Sura Baba and four others of outraging her modesty. A lady sub-inspector has been entrusted with the investigation.
Reliable sources have indicated that Assistant Commissioner of Police, Zone IV, has been supervising the case and there are several inconsistencies in the statements of the complainant.
However, the police could not record the statement of the complainant as she had left the city after filing the plaint. The victim’s mobile phone records revealed that she was not present in Bhubaneswar January 24, said the investigating officer. The CDR reports of January 24 confirmed that she was in Bhanjananagr and Phulbani and not in or around the Ashram under Baliapatna police limits.
Notably, Sura Baba was released from the Jharpada Special Jail here December 2, 2017, two years after he was arrested under Sections 341 (Wrongful restraint), 342 (Wrongful confinement), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 294 (for reciting or uttering obscene songs or lyrics, in or near a public place), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (Acts done by persons in furtherance of common intention) of IPC and section 3(I)(x) of the ST and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.