Baba Wam Dev Ram alias Bam Dev, who also goes by the name Ramji Maharaj, was apprehended from Punjabi Bagh on Tuesday, ACP (West) V Renganathan said. “Ramji, who hails from Heala Ranchi in Jharkhand, is wanted in a gang rape case lodged in Rani Bagh police station. He was also arrested in a kidnapping case in 2006 in Simdega of Jharkhand,” he said.
NEW DELHI – A 26-year-old ‘baba’ was arrested here for allegedly raping a teenage girl who had approached him for counselling as she was repeatedly sexually abused by her previous employer, police said on Wednesday.
Baba Wam Dev Ram alias Bam Dev, who also goes by the name Ramji Maharaj, was apprehended from Punjabi Bagh on Tuesday, ACP (West) V Renganathan said.
“Ramji, who hails from Heala Ranchi in Jharkhand, is wanted in a gang rape case lodged in Rani Bagh police station. He was also arrested in a kidnapping case in 2006 in Simdega of Jharkhand,” he said.
The 18-year-old victim had approached police in May claiming that she was raped by the “baba” who was asked to counsel her as she was a rape victim.
“She told us that she was repeatedly raped by one man while she was working in Amritsar. In April 2011, a woman brought her to Delhi. She told her about the incident of rape in Amritsar. In May, the woman discussed her case with the ‘baba’, who used to give counseling to tribal girls.
“After hearing the victim’s story, the man assured that he will sort out this problem. On May 6, he came to her house when the woman was not there. He called the victim in a room and raped her. He threatened her with dire consequences if she told people about it,” Renganathan said.
During interrogation, the “baba” told police that he studied till Class XII and after that he started to recite Bhagwat Katha and Ram Katha and “became very popular in Ranchi by the name of Baba”, the ACP said.
Later, he came in contact with a placement agency in Delhi and started sending unemployed girls from Jharkhand to the national capital. He came to Delhi six-seven years back and opened an NGO BB Tribal Welfare Society in Rani Bagh.
“He also started counseling sessions for tribal girls but he used to exploit them,” Renganathan said.
