New Delhi: An IIT Roorkee graduate who built an online following by preaching the Bhagavad Gita and “rejecting the corporate rat race” has been arrested in Mathura, accused of manipulating devotees and sexually exploiting women under the guise of spiritual guidance.
The accused, Abhishek Mishra, 29, popularly known was Adikarta Narayan Das, gave sermons on YouTube and in person to engineering students from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and National Institutes of Technology (NIT) from inside a 167 sqm under construction ashram in Radha Kund in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura.
Police officers investigating the matter told ThePrint that Mishra is from IIT Roorkee’s 2017-2021 mechanical engineering batch and hails from Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. He had created a following of engineering graduates, dropouts and those employed in engineering jobs and “brainwashed” all of them.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Suresh Chand Rawat said the probe revealed that Mishra had been residing at the Mathura premises for approximately six years, and claimed to be a preacher who delivered online lectures on the Gita.
“Many young, educated students and working professionals were drawn by him. They even came to live at his premises and he systematically brainwashed them and exploited them,” he told ThePrint.
Mishra was arrested Tuesday and the police also found two young women and a man from his premises who have now been handed over to their families.
The matter came to light when a 22-year-old BSc nursing student from Chhattisgarh lodged a complaint against Mishra at Govardhan police station on 25 May.
“The woman alleged that Mishra offered her milk, claiming it was ‘prasad’ but it contained intoxicating substances. The woman drank the milk and lost consciousness, and was then raped by him. Further, he also recorded obscene videos and clicked photographs of her,” said a police officer.
Acting on the complaint, the police reached the location of the ashram, following which Mishra was arrested. The police said they found multiple obscene videos and photographs of women in his mobile phone, but so far only one woman has come forward to file a complaint.
An FIR was registered against Mishra on 25 May under Sections 308(2) (extortion), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 76 (criminal force with intent to disrobe a woman) and 75(2) (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the police said.
‘No satisfaction in corporate job, he said’
Mishra runs a YouTube channel called ‘Radha Kripa Amrita’ through which he broadcast sermons in both Hindi and English. He also maintains a professional profile on LinkedIn under an assumed name, according to the police.
The police officials said he used these platforms not merely to build a following but to identify and target young women, particularly those from engineering background. He would establish contact with women through his videos and then manipulate them into cutting ties with their families and moving in with him. Once the women were under his influence, he would propose a Gandharva Vivah (the ancient Indian equivalent of a modern love marriage).
A second police officer told ThePrint that usually students from IIT and NIT would be interested in his sermons.
“They would find his videos viral on social media platforms. Mishra maintained a script. He would talk about how he was also part of the rat race once—to crack JEE—one of the toughest engineering exams, and get into one of the top IITs, and then get a job offer.”
“Mishra himself got a Rs 20 lakh job offer. He worked for some time but then left. He, too, was inspired by spiritual godmen and believed he could change the world,” said the officer.
To “entice” the youth, said the police, Mishra would tell them “he too had a job offer, and he left it after he discovered ISKCON (the Hare Krishna movement). He told them that life is more than a 9 to 5 corporate job, and that people should come to Brij and stay here, become more spiritual, and have spiritual energy around”.
“He would tell his disciples, who were part of the corporate race, that he understands god and speaks to god. He would tell them that there is no satisfaction in corporate jobs, but only here in Mathura. And the confused but educated youth would leave their jobs or college studies—and turn up at Mathura,” said the second police officer.
Among his disciples, Mishra would remain closer to women, according to the police.
He allegedly extorted money from the families of those living with him and made repeated attempts to draw in other young women from the surrounding neighbourhood. Most of those who had been residing with Mishra gradually left after growing suspicious of his behaviour, the officials said, adding that he brainwashed them to keep them loyal to him initially.
Mishra’s mother had also moved in with him earlier, but when she saw that he was in touch with multiple women, she moved out of Mathura, said the police.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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