Goa: Court acquits yoga teacher in rape case of US national

2 min readPanajiJul 2, 2026 05:41 AM IST

During the trial, the prosecution examined 19 witnesses, including medical experts.

A sessions court in Goa acquitted a yoga teacher, who was accused of sexually assaulting a foreign national in Goa in 2017, observing that since the victim did not appear before the court to testify, it cannot convict the accused, based on other material on record.

The complainant, a US national, had alleged that she registered as a student for a tantra course from February 1, 2017 to February 5, 2017 with an institute in Goa, run by the accused Pratik Agarwal, 38, alias Yogi Chaitanya. She alleged that during a session on February 2 , the accused directed her to remove her clothes on the pretext of giving her a ‘tantric massage’ and then he removed his clothes and sexually assaulted and molested her by touching her and inserted fingers in her private parts.

She alleged in the police complaint that the accused induced her and her friends to pay money but did not conduct proper yoga classes and did not provide promised facilities. She had further alleged that the accused had committed similar act with her friend, who was also a foreign national. Goa police had booked the accused under sections 376 (rape), 354 A (sexual harassment) and 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code. During the trial, the prosecution examined 19 witnesses, including medical experts. The court said the medical evidence did not conclusively establish sexual assault.

In an order last week, Pooja C Kavelkar, Presiding Officer, Fast Track Special Court Panaji, said, “The best witness to state before the court as to what had happened was the victim herself. As she has not appeared before the court, this court cannot convict the accused based on the other material on record. The medical evidence also does not conclusively establish sexual assault. Hence the accused is entitled for an acquittal.”