Mumbai: A new complaint was today filed at the suburban Borivali police station here against ‘godwoman’ Radhe Maa alleging her involvement in promoting superstition. Advocate Ashok Rajput who filed the complaint has demanded that Radhe Maa should be booked under the stringent Anti-Superstition Law not only for spreading superstition but also for practising “indecent behaviour”.
Mumbai Police spokesperson Dhananjay Kulkarni said that the police had received the complaint against Radhe Maa and is looking into it. “We are going into the merits of the complaint. Any further action would be taken only after enquiry and legal considerations,” Kulkarni said, adding that sections of the Anti-Superstition Act would be invoked only after proper circumstantial evidence is found. The Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013 was promulgated by the Maharashtra government to curb superstitious practices, claiming magical or miraculous remedies or powers.
“It is merely a complaint. An FIR would be registered only after we get substantiated and circumstantial evidences,” Kulkarni clarified, adding that the Act encompasses 12 clauses which criminalise acts involving superstitious activities. Kulkarni also informed that the Mumbai police has been cracking down on such practises under the stringent and non-bailable act.
In 2013, the Mumbai police registered four cases under this act, but in 2014, the number of such cases registered jumped to 14, the police officer said. Last week, a 32-year-old woman had filed a complaint of domestic violence and dowry harassment against her in-laws and Radhe Maa. She alleged that the ‘godwoman’ instigated her in-laws, who have been her followers for last several years.
