Visakhapatnam, June 20 : Police in Andhra Pradesh have arrested a godman on allegations of sexually assaulting a minor girl at his ashram here for more than two years.

The girl from Rajamahendravaram had lost her parents at an early age. Her relatives sent her to the ashram meant for the aged and poor children.

She alleged that the Swami used to take her to his bedroom every night and rape her. For the last one year, the victim was chained in the bedroom.

She told police that she was being given only two spoons of food and allowed to bathe only once a week.

The victim managed to escape from the ashram with the help of a domestic help on June 13.

She boarded a train and narrated her trauma to a woman passenger known to her. When the woman tried to admit her to a hostel at Kankipadu in Krishna district, the management asked her to bring a letter from the police.

After receiving a letter from the police, the woman took the girl to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), where she revealed how the Swami sexually and physically assaulted her at the ashram.

CWC members sent the girl to Disha Police Station, where a case was registered against Swami Poornananda under the POCSO Act.