THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Crime Branch has faced a setback in the Swami Gangeshananda bobbitisation case. The court has returned the charge sheet filed by the Crime Branch in connection with the case. The Thiruvananthapuram Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Elsa Catherine issued the order. Swami Gangeshananda was named as the accused in the charge sheet filed by the Crime Branch.

The incident related to the case took place on May 19, 2017. The case was first investigated by the Thiruvananthapuram Pettah police. The charge sheet submitted by the Crime Branch did not include the details provided by the Pettah police, including scene mahazar. The police had taken the girl into custody soon after the incident. The girl told the police that she attacked Swami Gangeshananda when he tried to assault her sexually. Gangeshananda was formally charged with rape in a charge sheet submitted by the Crime Branch to the Thiruvananthapuram CJM court.

Initially, the girl told the police that she attacked Swami Gangeshananda to prevent a sexual assault. However, she later retracted this statement in the High Court, saying that the Swami had not attempted to sexually assault her. Instead, she claimed that she was misled by her friend Ayyappadas, which led her to attack the Swami. In a complaint given to the DGP in 2020, Gangeshananda had demanded a probe into an alleged conspiracy involving certain police officers who attempted to falsely implicate him in the case.

Gangeshananda had earlier claimed that he himself had cut off his genital. However, he later retracted this statement. He now asserts that he was attacked by a group of individuals while asleep, resulting in the injury.