Haryana's Baba Amarpuri, held for 'raping', making videos to blackmail

Fatehabad: Haryana police arrested Baba Amarpuri, a mahant or chief priest at Balaknath temple in Fatehabad's Tohana on Friday, after videos of him allegedly raping women surfaced online, reports news agency ANI.

Police say "suspicious articles" have been seized from his house during a raid.

"We have filed a case and have started an investigation in the matter," the police added.

According to reports, 60-year-old Baba Amarpuri, locally known as Billu, reportedly used to rape women and make their video clips to blackmail them.

Baba Amarpuri has denied allegations saying, he's being "framed", say reports.

However, he is not the first time that a self-styled godman has sexually exploited women.

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the rape of two saadhvis at his ashram in Haryana's Sirsa.

Another godman Asaram Bapu, with a following that runs into lakhs, was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a 16-year-old girl whose family brought her to visit his ashram in Jodhpur.