Police in Mathura have arrested an IIT Roorkee mechanical engineering graduate who allegedly posed as a ‘sadhu’ to drug, sexually assault and blackmail educated young women lured through online spiritual discourses and bhajan-kirtan sessions, officials said on Wednesday. The accused, identified as Abhishek Mishra, was picked up from his rented premises in Radhakund, Govardhan, where two women and a young boy were also rescued.

How the case surfaced

The arrest followed a written complaint filed with Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar by the sister of an alleged victim, a third-semester B.Sc. Nursing student from Chhattisgarh. According to the complaint, the student had travelled to Mathura on 15 May to celebrate her birthday with her elder sister, who was interning at IOCL in Radhakund and living as a tenant in a house owned by the accused.

Investigators said the elder sister had come into contact with Mishra through a local bhajan-kirtan group. On the night of 15 May, the accused allegedly offered the visiting student a glass of milk, calling it ‘Prasad’. She reportedly fell ill, lost consciousness, and was allegedly subjected to obscene acts; when she tried to resist, she was allegedly threatened with death, police said.

Blackmail trigger

The family initially chose silence over a police complaint, fearing social stigma. Matters escalated when Mishra allegedly contacted the victim over a video call and demanded ₹5 lakh, threatening to circulate her private photographs on social media. The victim then informed her father, who brought her back to Mathura and approached the SSP. A case was registered at Govardhan police station on 25 May.

Who the accused is

Police said Mishra, originally from Odisha, completed his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Roorkee in 2021 and worked briefly at a firm offering an annual package of around ₹20 lakh before quitting. He had been living in Radhakund for the last three years, also operating under the name Adhikarta Narayan Das, and had reportedly set up what he called an ‘ashram’ — allegedly funded through extortion proceeds used to buy property in the area.

Pattern of alleged offences

As the probe widened, investigators said preliminary findings pointed to a broader modus operandi: targeting educated women, particularly B.Tech graduates working with multinational firms, through online religious outreach. After building trust, the accused would allegedly invite them to his residence, administer intoxicants, sexually exploit them, and covertly record photographs and videos to extort money. More than a dozen objectionable clips involving different individuals were reportedly recovered from his mobile phone.

Officials added that Mishra allegedly facilitated so-called ‘Gandharva marriages’ — informal consent-based unions — between young men and women, and then allegedly manipulated the women into physical relationships.

What happens next

Speaking to reporters, SP (Rural) Suresh Chandra Rawat said a police team arrested Mishra from his Radhakund residence on Monday evening, and that the two women and the boy rescued from the premises have been sent to a de-addiction centre for treatment and counselling. The accused remains in custody, and investigators are probing the possibility of additional victims and the wider network allegedly operating from the so-called ashram.