Court sends self-styled godman to police custody

New Delhi, March 16 : Self-styled godman Shiv Murat Dwivedi's flesh trade network involved 1,000 prostitutes and more than hundred brokers across the country, a city court was informed Tuesday by police before getting his custody till March 20.

Special Judge S.K.Sarwaria granted police custody of Dwivedi till March 20 as the police presented to the court eight diaries and five CDs seized by them from Dwivedi, who called himself Ichchadhari Sant.

"We have to unearth the whole network in which more than hundred brokers and thousand prostitutes are involved. He has also amassed huge property in Mumbai, Noida, Kolkata, Varanasi and Gowardhan," said police while seeking his custody to verify the contents of his website.

Police contended that the dairies contained coded information related to Dwivedi's money transactions and contact details of more than 3,000 people. Dwivedi, who has been booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was brought to the court after the expiry of his judicial custody.

He was arrested on Feb 26 and booked under the MCOCA under which an accused cannot apply for bail for six months from the day of his arrest. A police officer of the rank of deputy commissioner can only record his confession which can be used as evidence in the court.

Dwivedi, who belongs to Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh, came to New Delhi in 1988 and initially worked as a security guard. He was arrested on charges of running a prostitution racket in 1997 and 1998.

He then changed his appearance and started calling himself Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale. Under the cloak of spirituality, he again started a flesh trade racket, police said.