Chennai: It is a season of sexual predators of various hues getting exposed, be it schools or the online space. The long arm of law has finally caught up with self-styled godman Shiva Sankar Baba, founder of a spiritual empire, comprising a residential school. Facing charges of sexual abuse of minor students, he went into hiding at Dehradun and a lookout circular was issued at airports to prevent him from fleeing the country. He was arrested by a special team in Delhi, brought here and remanded in custody.
The self-styled godman considered even minor school girls as 'gopikas'. Likening him to be Lord Krishna, he used to hug and kiss them. Now, the realtor-turned new age guru is cooling his heels behind the bars on charges of sexually harassing girl students of the residential school run by him. Action against him under the POCSO Act followed a plethora of complaints by the alumni. After his remand in custody, the 72-year-old godman complained of uneasiness and has been admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH). He was earlier referred to the Chengalpattu Government Medical College Hospital.
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From obscurity, he has risen to popularity and now to notoriety. Founder of the Sushil Hari International Residential School at Kelambakkam on the city outskirts, he has now fallen out of grace following his arrest in Delhi by a special team of the CB-CID in Delhi and remand by a Mahila court in Chengalpattu on Thursday.
It all started with the alumni of Padma Seshadri group of schools in the city accusing a commerce teacher of sexually misbehaving with them. It had then spread to other schools like the Chettinad Vidyashram, St George Anglo Indian School, and the Kendriya Vidyalaya at the Central Leather Research Institute. While in these schools, it was the teachers, it was the Baba himself in his institution where he teaches Tamil for Senior Secondary students.
A native of Alangayam, a nondescript village in the erstwhile Vellore District (present Thirupattur), he is the son of a school teacher, Narayana Sarma. After formal schooling in the village, he completed graduation in Chemistry and a Masters in Logistics. Stepping into the transport sector, he launched his own firm only to give it up and turn to real estate where he became a successful contractor from 1978 to 1983. He also dabbled his hands in documentary filmmaking. With increased connections in the industry, he got elevated as a member of trade guilds and advisory panels of public sector units.
Father of two sons, he claimed to have spiritual powers and started preaching from Mannadi, a crowded locality near the High Court complex. Besides giving sermons to those seeking solace, he helped many through his connections and influence. In the 90s, he launched his own spiritual forum, 'Samrakshana' and during this time, a private television channel organised a one-on-one between him and another self-proclaimed godman and a bitter critic, Yaagava Munivar (Rishi Yaagava). It turned acrimonious and Shiva Shankar was physically attacked and the show was abruptly stopped.
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His real estate background and connections in society helped him receive huge donations and in 2001, he founded the school at Kelambakkam and a multi-speciality hospital as well as a home for the aged. Like any other godman, he too had his tragic flaw of treating school girls as gopikas. Many alumni have taken to social media revealing the excesses of the Baba. A few have complained to the police as well. Interestingly, some maintain that their parents too were aware of this. Women teachers were accused of silencing them saying that the Baba is divine and they should be happy. Now, one of the teachers, Sushmitha, has been arrested.
YouTuber arrested
Meanwhile, equally sensational and sleazy is the arrest of the hugely popular YouTuber and PUBG gamer Madan Kumar for uploading obscene content online along with the banned PUBG. The 29-year-old engineering graduate was nabbed from a hideout on Friday, a couple of days after his wife Kruthika was arrested with their 8-month-old baby boy. He was on the run for more than a week after a complaint was registered against him in Chennai.
The second son of a retired city corporation employee of Salem, who ran a small hotel, Madan was drawn towards PUBG and Chennai-based Kruthika was initially one of his fans. Starting his channels in 2019, he had amassed huge wealth, police said. Now, the couple's bank accounts have been frozen. According to police sources, the duo owns two houses in Chennai and two Audi cars besides Rs 4 crore in bank accounts.
With over 7.5 lakh subscribers on YouTube and another one lakh for his Toxic Madan18+, he has attained a cult status among teenagers. Despite PUBG being banned in the country, the couple allegedly live-streamed the games through a VPN connection, raking in the moolah. With a huge fan base hooked to the channels, Madan uploaded vulgar conversations he had with women and minor girls. Kruthika is the administrator of these channels. Ironically, the obscene commentary had only helped expand his fan base. Now, with over 160 complaints having been received, the police cracked the whip on him.
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