Documentary record Bound by Fear
← Explore all cases
Conviction Hindu and Hindu-derived contexts Khurai, Sagar District, Madhya Pradesh, India · 2026

India: itinerant religious preacher (kathavachak) sentenced to life for kidnapping and repeatedly raping a girl he met while conducting a temple storytelling event

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

kathavachak (itinerant religious storyteller/preacher) conducting a katha (religious narrative) event

Organization

No organization assigned

Spiritual nexus

The victim's family encountered Das in his capacity as a religious preacher conducting a katha (sacred-narrative recitation) event, a role that gave him standing and access within the community; he used that access as the point of manipulation before kidnapping the girl.

  • Guru or spiritual-teacher authority
  • Other spiritual authority or belief

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2026-07-17 · conviction and sentence

    Third Additional District and Sessions Court, Khurai, Sagar District, Madhya Pradesh, India. Judge Sandhya Manoj Srivastava convicted kathavachak Govind Das (alias Govinda), of Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, and his associate Radhe, of Tikamgarh, of kidnapping and repeatedly raping a 16-year-old girl the pair encountered at a religious katha event Das conducted in February 2025. The girl was held roughly two to three months from 13 February 2025. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 70(2) (gang rape) with a fine of ₹2,000 each, 20 years' rigorous imprisonment under POCSO Act Sections 5(l)/6 with a fine of ₹2,000 each, and 7 years' rigorous imprisonment under Section 96 (kidnapping) with a fine of ₹1,000 each, sentences to run concurrently.

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • religious storytelling event used as the point of contact and manipulation
  • kidnapping and roughly two-to-three months' captivity following the religious event
  • repeated sexual assault during captivity

Primary record

Sources

regional newspaper court reporting verdict and sentencing report 'कथावाचक और ढोलक वादक को अंतिम सांस तक जेल की सजा' ["Preacher and drum accompanist sentenced to life"], Amar Ujala, 17 Jul. 2026.

Hindi-language report of the Khurai sessions court judgment, naming both defendants, the judge, the specific statutory sections and sentences, the February 2025 katha event as point of contact, and the roughly two-to-three-month captivity.

Related record

Related cases · Hindu and Hindu-derived contexts

← Explore all cases