New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) A city court Tuesday sent self-styled godman Shiv Murat Dwivedi, who called himself Ichchadhari Sant and is accused of running a prostitution racket, to police custody till March 20 for interrogation related to his website content.

Additional Sessions Judge S.K. Sarvaria decided to send Dwivedi, 39, to police custody after investigators produced the case records.

Police earlier sought the custody of Dwivedi, arrested with six women and a man from south Delhi Feb 26, to verify the contents of the website run by him.

Dwivedi, who has been booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was brought to the court after the expiry of his judicial custody.

Under the MCOCA, an accused cannot apply for bail for six months from the day of his arrest and a police officer of the rank of deputy commissioner can only record his confession which can be used as evidence in the court.

Dwivedi, who belongs to Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh, came to New Delhi in 1988 and initially worked as a security guard. He was arrested on charges of running a prostitution racket in 1997 and 1998.

He then changed his appearance and started calling himself Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale. Under the cloak of spirituality, he again started a flesh trade racket, police said.