Rape survivor names Umreth Swaminarayan pujari as accused

The rape survivor who gave birth to a stillborn has named Umreth BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha) temple pujari Kanti Vaghela as accused for the crime on Monday.

The body of an infant was found near Ram Talav in Anand’s Umreth on Saturday. The woman who gave birth to the stillborn baby was admitted to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital due to excessive blood loss.

Family members of the young woman had discarded the child in Ram Talav. 

The woman worked at the Swaminarayan temple and Vaghela called her daily to serve food to him.

The woman had accused the pujari of sexually assaulting her for the past year which led to her pregnancy.

However, Vaghela denied the allegations, claiming that he had been working at the temple for the past three years and that the woman occasionally showed up asking for food. According to the pujari, the woman made the accusations when he denied her food.

Umreth police filed a complaint against Vaghela after the survivor was admitted to Civil Hospital, and provided a statement to police in front of a mamlatdar.

The police are now preparing to arrest the accused and take his DNA samples for further investigation.

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