At the Magh Mela in Prayagraj, chants from a tent marked the conclusion of a yajna ceremony. After the ritual ended, Shakambhari Peethadheeshwar Ashutosh Brahmachari allegedly called two batuks, placed his hand on their heads, gave them 6,000 each as dakshina, collected their Aadhaar cards for making dakshina cards and obtained their signatures on blank sheets of paper.

According to an investigation by Dainik Bhaskar, it was from this point that an alleged conspiracy to implicate Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand in a sexual exploitation case began. The report claims Ashutosh later used those signed blank papers to prepare statements alleging sexual harassment. Bhaskar said it conducted a four-month investigation, during which a batuk, his father and uncle spoke on hidden camera about the alleged sequence of events.

Why these two batuks were allegedly chosen

The report traces the story back nearly a year. The two batuks had participated in yajnas held in two different cities of Uttar Pradesh and had reportedly received 60,000 each as dakshina. It was during this period that they came into contact with Ashutosh Maharaj.

According to the investigation, four reasons were cited for allegedly choosing them as complainants in the Shankaracharya case:

1. They belonged to ordinary rural families.
2. Their financial condition was weak and they had no stable source of income.
3. They had strong religious faith and could be influenced in the name of religion.
4. Ashutosh was already acquainted...

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