India, June 18 -- In a midnight operation on Tuesday, Pune city police arrested a 59-year-old godman and seven others for running an exploitation racket from a secret underground ashram in Wagholi's Ubale Nagar area.

The prime accused has been identified as Radha Mohan Mishra, 59. His associates include six women and a man. According to the police, the accused constructed a bunker-type structure where he allegedly ran an illegal ashram, claiming to possess divine powers and portraying himself as an incarnation of God.

The police action followed a complaint from a woman IT professional alleging sexual exploitation and misconduct inside the ashram. Based on her statement and intelligence gathered during a preliminary inquiry, a special te...