Self-Styled 'Baba' Hits Followers, Feeds Them His Urine In Maharashtra
A self-styled 'baba' in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district has been exposed for subjecting villagers to horrifying and abusive rituals under the guise of spiritual healing. Operating from a temple in Shiur village, Vaijapur tehsil, the baba, Sanjay Pagare, ran a disturbing two-year-long campaign of blind faith and torment.
Sanjay Pagare claimed to possess supernatural powers, telling villagers he could exorcise spirits, arrange marriages for the unmarried, and help couples have children through his "aghori" rituals. What he actually practiced was nothing short of cruel and degrading.
Victims, both men and women, were beaten with sticks, made to shove their own shoes into their mouths, and forced to run in circles around the temple. In several cases, they were fed tree leaves as part of a so-called cure.
The baba would also force his followers to drink his urine, claiming it was part of his spiritual treatment.
The extent of this abuse came to light after activists from an anti-superstition organisation carried out a sting operation using hidden cameras. The footage, now in possession of authorities and obtained by NDTV, captures several disturbing scenes.
In one video, the baba is seen stepping on a man's face as he lay flat on the ground. The same man, appearing disoriented or semi-conscious, is later shown sitting before the baba as part of a ritual. The baba throws yellow powder at him, makes him smell a shoe, and beats a drum in front of him. The man is later seen struggling to stand, with others having to lift him, appearing not in full control of his senses.
Other videos show the baba striking both men and women with a long stick in what he portrayed as spiritual cleansing. For Sanjay Pagare, beating people with a stick was a routine part of his fraudulent healing practice.
Following the activists' complaint, a case was registered against him under the Indian Penal Code. Authorities have filed an FIR against Sanjay Pagare under multiple legal sections for fraud, assault, and promoting superstition.
Activists have called for stronger enforcement of the Maharashtra Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Act to prevent such abuses in the future.
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