Rajinder Kalia is being sued in the High Court over allegations that he “groomed” members of his temple into believing he is “an incarnation of God” while subjecting women and children as young as four to horrific s*xual abuse.
Kalia, the head priest of a Hindu-based temple in Coventry, allegedly performed “miracles” like setting fire to water and squeezing blood from a lemon to convince devotees of his supernatural powers.
The claimants’ barrister, Mark Jones, suggested that Kalia performed these “tricks” to persuade followers of his divine abilities.
However, Kalia denied all allegations, stating he was merely “entertaining” his followers. “It is entertainment,” he told the judge, Mr. Justice Martin Spencer, adding, “Does a magician reveal his tricks? I have told you before, I was entertaining.”
Kalia, 68, asserted that the allegations against him were part of a conspiracy to extort millions from him. “The claimants have fabricated stories and lied to extort money from me,” he told the court. He denied ever claiming to be divine or to have a direct link to God, as alleged by the claimants.
He stated that he was simply the “figurehead” of his temple and had never claimed to cure illnesses or charged fees for prayers. He dismissed one claimant’s allegation that she was coerced into paying £5,000 for a cure for her dog’s cancer as “entirely made up.”
Four women are suing Kalia over claims of s*xual abuse, while they and three other former devotees also allege financial exploitation, although two of the latter cases have been struck out.
The former worshippers seek millions in compensation, claiming Kalia portrayed himself as an incarnation of God through his “purported miracles” and asserted his authority was infallible.
The judge criticized the handling of the case, stating there was “no acceptable explanation” for why the issues were not discovered until several days into the trial, describing it as “virtually contemptuous of the proceedings of this court.”
The cases of the four women claiming s*xual abuse and one former temple member claiming financial abuse are ongoing. Kalia began preaching in 1983 after moving to the UK from India in 1977 and claimed to have experienced a miracle as a teenager that brought him closer to the divine.
