Newborn named after Mathura violence mastermind

A disciple of the self-styled spiritual leader who masterminded the Mathura violence has named her newborn after her guru, revealing the ardent following he enjoys.

The disciple, Dharmavati Devi, arrested from Mathura’s Jawahar Bagh park on June 3, gave birth to a baby boy late on Friday night at a hospital in Etah district, 300  kilometres from UP capital Lucknow.

Dharmavati, arrested along with 90 other women, was shifted to Etah district jail from Mathura a few days ago. A heavily pregnant Dharmavati was admitted to the hospital late on Thursday.

“I decided to name my son after Ram Vriksh Yadav. I lived with my husband at the park for two years and was in regular contact with Yadav and other senior members of the sect,” she said.  A resident of Dalatpur Karenda village in Bareilly district, 32-year-old Dharmavati has three children, who were among the 70 kids recovered from the park after the clashes. They are lodged in Etah’s children’s home.

Dharmavati said she had no clue about Yadav’s alleged nefarious activities at the park. “We only viewed him as a spiritual leader and respected him,” she said. Before forming his own sect, Yadav was a disciple of Jai Gurudev in Mathura.

Ram Vriksh Yadav even floated an outfit and called himself Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. The spiritual leader and his cult members illegally occupied the sprawling Mathura park for the past two years.