Swami GangeshanandaThiruvananthapuram: A 54-year-old self styled godman, whose genitals were mutilated by a young woman, denied her allegation of sexual abuse and claimed he was "fast asleep" when attacked.
Swami Gangeshananda, aka Sreehari said this to reporters here on Friday when he was being taken by the police, who have got his custody for further probe.
The swami was a frequent visitor to the home of a 23-year-old woman who bobbitized him last month. The woman, who stays with her parents, alleged she had been sexually abused by him on many occasions.
"I was asleep and when I woke up I saw the woman. She got help from her friend Ayyapa Das," the swami said, while being taken into a police jeep.
He denied the woman's allegation that she assaulted him with a kitchen knife after he made sexual advances at her.
"The news you hear from the police is the version of the woman, and that's not true. The probe is going forward only on the basis of what she has said," he claimed.
This is the first time the swami made a statement to the media.
On May 29 , the woman's mother had sent a letter to the Kerala Police chief saying that her daughter was not keeping the best of mental health and that the swami had never harassed her.
In her letter, the victim's mother said the swami had chided her for an affair with a friend of hers and this led to the incident on May 18.
According to the mother, her daughter has twice in the past attempted suicide by slashing her wrist.
The godman will now be produced before the court on Saturday when the police custody period ends.
The 23-year-old woman had told police that the godman had been raping her since she was a minor, and continued the abuse for about eight years.
