U.S-based pandit accused of using ‘spiritual ritual’ in new sexual assault case

(Kaieteur News) – A U.S-based Guyanese pandit who was accused of raping a 16-year-old girl in Guyana more than a decade ago is facing a new sexual assault charge in Canada, after allegedly using a religious ceremony to sexually assault a woman in Oshawa.

Fifty-year-old Rajendranauth Doodnauth Maraj of Richmond Hill, New York, was arrested on Tuesday, 25th August, 2026, after Durham Regional Police responded to a sexual assault report in the area of Harmony Road North and Conlin Road East.

According to police, the victim and her family had employed Maraj to travel to Canada to perform a Hindu religious ceremony.