The devotee, Devanand Das Pandit alias Devashish, a son of Harishankar Das resident of Kishori Kunj in Chaitanya Vihar of Vrindavan, has been charged with assaulting children between 8 years and 12 years of age and has been book under Protection of Children against Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. Mathura police said the accused used to lure children to his house by offering them toffees and then assaulted them. Pandit also took children on car rides and then abused them. He thrashed children when they resisted, police said.
The matter came to light after a boy complained to his parents. The parents then approached the school principal, who went to the police.
An FIR under sections 323 (voluntarily causes hurt), 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) has been lodged against the man who is a regular visitor to the Iskcon temple.
The accused has also been charged with ¾ POCSO Act. The FIR has been lodged by Lokesh Kumar B, principal of the school.