Rape case registered against fraud ‘tantrik’ in Niphad

Nashik: The Nashik Rural police have launched a search for a fraudster who claims to "have divine powers" after a 28-year-old woman filed a complaint accusing him of raping her in 2024. An FIR has been registered at the Lasalgaon police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act.According to the police, the accused allegedly assaulted the woman at a lodge on Trimbakeshwar Road. The woman did not report the incident at the time, fearing that the man could curse her. She approached the police only recently after members of the Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti encouraged her to come forward following the exposure of astrologer Ashok Kharat in similar sexual assault cases.The complainant, who works as a security guard, was first married in 2017 but separated due to domestic issues. Her second marriage in 2020 also ended unsuccessfully, after which she began living with her parents. Disturbed by her failed marriages, her parents believed she was under an evil spell and decided to seek help from a ‘tantrik'.In Aug 2024, the family visited the accused at Dharangaon Khadak in Niphad taluka. He allegedly advised the woman to visit his temple every Thursday and asked her to drop her plans to marry the man she was then dating. Later, the accused allegedly expressed personal interest in her and suggested she manage operations of his Pune-based ‘math'.While the woman's parents supported the ‘tantrik', her fiancé warned her to ignore him. During subsequent meetings, the accused allegedly took her to a lodge and raped her, claiming that she could not act against him because of his divine powers. When she later confronted him, he allegedly took her mobile phone and deleted all communication between them.The woman later married her fiancé and had no further contact with the accused. After the recent developments in similar cases, she was contacted by rationalist activists, following which she lodged the police complaint.Assistant inspector Deepak Patil said efforts are ongoing to trace and arrest the accused, and further investigation is underway.
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