Ministers once sought blessings, now jailed till death:Court recounts Rewa Circuit House gangrape; Mahant sought atonement by shaving head

In a landmark and stringent verdict, a special POCSO court in Rewa sentenced five men, including self-styled saint and Kathavachak Sitaram, to imprisonment for the remainder of their natural lives in the infamous Rewa Circuit House gangrape case involving a minor girl. Special Judge (POCSO Act) Padma Jatav also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on each convict on Tuesday. The court held that the crime was brutal, premeditated, and a gross misuse of social and religious influence. A self-styled ‘godman’ once surrounded by power One of the main convicts, Sitaram, was once a familiar figure among powerful politicians and officials. Police convoys preceded him, and senior ministers and MLAs were known to touch his feet for blessings. That aura collapsed on March 28, 2022, when a minor girl was gangraped in Room No. 4 of the Rewa Circuit House (Raj Niwas)—a VIP government facility. The incident sent shockwaves across Madhya Pradesh. Dainik Bhaskar learned about the gangrape that took place at Rajnivas Circuit House about four years ago. In this entire case, the court convicted 5 out of a total of 9 accused and acquitted 4 due to lack of evidence. Read the full report… Verdict: 5 convicted, 4 acquitted Out of nine accused, the court convicted: Four others—Sanjay Tripathi, Ravi Shankar Shukla, Janvi Dubey, and Tausid Ansari—were acquitted due to lack of evidence. How the crime was planned According to court findings, Vinod Pandey, a hardened criminal, lured the 17-year-old victim from Satna to Rewa under the pretext of helping her with college work. After bringing her to the Circuit House: Pandey, the court noted, has over 36 criminal cases registered against him, including murder and rape, and had earlier been convicted in a double murder case. Evidence that secured conviction Despite challenges, the prosecution successfully proved the case using: The court examined 22 witnesses and relied on 140 documentary exhibits. After five days of intense arguments, the verdict was delivered, and all convicts were immediately sent to jail. Arrested while trying to shave his head Investigating Officer Hirendranath Sharma revealed that Sitaram was arrested while attempting to shave his head to change his appearance and evade arrest. Known for his long hair, the accused planned to flee via Singrauli to Uttar Pradesh. He later claimed the head-shaving was an act of “repentance,” not escape. Police tracked him to a barber shop, where a tip-off led to his arrest. Survivor’s account: “They locked the door and turned off the lights” The victim, in her statement, recounted how she was: She said she was slapped when she tried to flee, threatened with harm to her family, and raped after the room was locked from outside. Later, she managed to escape while being taken to a hotel and reached a police station with the help of acquaintances. An FIR was registered after her father arrived. The rise and fall of ‘Mahant’ Sitaram Sitaram Das, alias Samarth Tripathi, hailed from Rewa’s Guhd area. A school dropout, he drifted between jobs before adopting the garb of a saint. In September 2020, he became a mahant of a temple in Gonda (UP). Within months, he was involved in: He was jailed in that case, later returned to Rewa, and rebuilt his image by associating with influential figures—many of whom, police say, had criminal backgrounds masked as social service. Circuit House room booked in name of a history-sheeter Police confirmed that: Alcohol, drugs, and exploitation Investigators found that Sitaram: A message from the court By awarding life imprisonment till the last breath, the court sent a strong message against crimes committed under the cloak of religion, influence, and power. What began as blind faith ended in one of Madhya Pradesh’s most damning judgments—turning a once-revered godman into a life convict behind bars.