Lucknow, February 22 – A special court for dealing with crimes against minors in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, ordered the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and one of his associates, Mukundanand Giri, on Saturday, over allegations of sexually exploiting two children at his ashram.
The FIR, filed under Section 173 (4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), details the shocking instances of sexual exploitation of two minors at Swami Avimukteshwaranand's ashram by the seer himself and his associates.
The complaint against Swami Avimukteshwaranand and his disciple has been filed by Ashutosh Brahmachari Maharaj from Tulsi Kunj.
The complainant alleges that the two minor male children, aged 14 and 17 years, were subjected to repeated sexual abuse at Swami Avimukteshwaranand's ashram by himself and his associates for more than a year.
He claims that the matter came to light after the two minor victims approached him during the Magh mela, confided in him about their sexual exploitation, and also sought his assistance in obtaining police protection.
The victims, expressing their desire to become his disciples, told him that they were also sexually abused during the Maha Kumbh 2025 and the Magh Mela 2026, and were asked to consider this as "guru seva" (service to a guru), and they would reap the benefits in the future.
The complainant further alleges that the two minors were coerced and threatened to sleep without clothes at the Ashram, either alone or together, and then they were sexually exploited at night.
"Even during the recent Magh mela, Swami Avimukteshwaranand sexually abused the minor victims inside a parked car and also inside the makeshift camp," the FIR states.
It was only after the victims escaped the seer's "captivity" and reached Ashutosh Brahmachari Maharaj's ashram that the latter became aware of Swami Avimukteshwaranand's sexual activities and lodged a complaint against him with the Prayagraj police.
Meanwhile, Swami Avimukteshwaranand has dismissed the charges against him, calling it a motivated conspiracy, and said that the legal process will eventually reveal the truth.
The seer has also questioned the credibility of the complainant, claiming that the person making the allegations has a criminal background.
"The individual who has made accusations against me is himself a known criminal. His record proves this," he said, hours after the police were directed to register a complaint against him.
Swami Avimukteshwarananda, the 'Shankaracharya' of Jyotirmath (Uttarakhand), recently came into the spotlight after a confrontation with the organizers of the Magh Mela in Prayagraj, after he was denied permission to take a holy bath during Mauni Amavasya. The seer had accused the state administration of preventing him from taking a dip on the auspicious occasion.
