UK Maoist cult leader Aravindan Balakrishnan raped followers, kept daughter a prisoner for 30 years

London: A Maoist cult leader was found guilty on Friday of raping and beating his brainwashed female followers, while keeping his own daughter a fearful prisoner for more than 30 years in homes across south London. Aravindan Balakrishnan, 75, known as Comrade Bala, used sexual degradation and physical and mental violence to keep the women under his control, turning his commune based on Communist teachings into his own personal cult with members who believed him to be a god, prosecutors said. His own...