Karnataka: Yoga guru held after US-based Indian woman alleges rape

A Chikkamagaluru-based yoga guru has been arrested on the charge of raping a foreign national repeatedly after tricking her into believing that they had a relationship in their previous birth.

The woman, whose family is from Punjab, is now a resident of California, US. Initially, she reportedly took online yoga lessons from the accused, Pradeep Ullal. After that, she was allegedly called to the yoga centre at Mallenahalli, where she was raped several times in two years, says her complaint registered at Chikkamagaluru’s rural police station.

She was reportedly introduced to Ullal in 2020, through a friend. He allegedly “touched [her] inappropriately”, claiming that they had a “relationship in [their] previous birth”. Her complaint says he spoke to her “spiritually, saying he was doing energy work, kundali block, and divine love”, and sexually assaulted her.

Repeated assault

She returned to California but went back to Karnataka on February 2, 2022, and stayed at the yoga centre for 10 days, says her complaint. During her stay, he allegedly raped her five to six times.

However, she returned again in July 2022 and stayed for 21 days, during which period he allegedly raped her again twice or thrice. She got pregnant as a result but later suffered a miscarriage, says her complaint.

Police arrested Ullal based on the woman’s complaint.