Hindu guru, Swami Ram Tripathi has been arrested and charged for rape and sexual assault on a 22 year old Guyanese woman who visited the guru last Friday where he was staying on the outskirts of San Fernando, with devotees. The woman complained that she was sprayed with a liquid and then assaulted by 85 year old Tripathi.
Attorney Prakash Ramadhar is representing Swami Ram Tripathi. Tripathi, 85, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Mark Wellington charged with raping a 22-year-old Guyanese woman and committing an act of grievous sexual assault at a centre on the outskirts of San Fernando. He was granted TT$50,000 bail and his passport seized. He is to reappear in court on May 29.
Tripathi has visited Trinidad several times before and his last visit here was in June 2005. The spiritual teacher, or swami, who is said to have hundreds of thousands of devotees around the world, arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday and was expected to conduct Satsangh (religious discourses) across the country throughout the month. The guru Tripathi is also an author of dozens of religious books and and a composer of religious songs.
