Ghaziabad Police have arrested two women in connection with the alleged rape, blackmail, and intimidation of a Sadhvi at a local ashram, officials confirmed on Sunday (June 2).

Both accused, themselves Sadhvis at the Gurukul Shantidham Ashram in Ghaziabad, were taken into custody during a routine police check on Friday, The Indian Express reported.

The arrested women have been identified as 62-year-old Divya Yog Maya Saraswati, a resident of Assam, and her associate Radhika, also known as Shabnam, aged 35, from Kaushambi in Ghaziabad.

According to Station House Officer (SHO) Ajay Kumar Sharma of Kaushambi Police Station, the primary accused in the case is Divya’s brother, Gokul, who remains at large and is believed to have fled to Assam.

The case was initiated based on a written complaint filed by the victim on May 8. In her statement to the police, the Sadhvi alleged that Gokul raped her at the ashram after he and the two women spiked her cold drink. She further claimed that the trio subsequently blackmailed her and threatened to kill her if she spoke out about the incident.

Police have registered a case under sections 64(1) (rape) and 123 (causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The investigation is ongoing, and authorities said efforts are underway to trace and arrest Gokul.

“We are taking all the necessary legal action and soon, the main accused will be arrested as well,” the SHO told the newspaper.