Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
A self-styled godman has been arrested in Maharashtra’s Latur district for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl on the pretext of performing a ritual to remove a supposed flaw in her kundali (birth chart).
The accused, identified as Rameshwar Ramdasi Maharaj, a resident of Latur city, is said to have committed the alleged crime after convincing her parents that the astrological affliction could be fixed by performing a special puja (worship session).
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According to the complaint in the matter, the teenager’s parents had approached him to get her birth chart prepared.
The accused allegedly told them that their daughter had a flaw in her natal chart and that a ritual would have to be performed to remove it. Believing him, the parents agreed to the puja.
Ramdasi then allegedly went to the girl’s house to perform the ritual. He asked her parents to leave the room on the pretext of chanting prayers and instructed them to continue the chanting outside.
Once he was alone with the minor, the accused allegedly told her that the supposed flaw in her birth chart could only be removed if she had a physical relationship with him. He allegedly used the claim to manipulate and rape the minor.
The accused also allegedly threatened the girl, telling her that if she disclosed the incident to anyone, the flaw in her natal chart would never be removed.
The teen later became pregnant and subsequently told her parents about the alleged sexual abuse. Following her disclosure, her parents approached the police and filed a complaint.
A case was subsequently registered by the police under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the Maharashtra Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Act, and multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Following this, Ramdasi was arrrested and produced before a court, which remanded him to four days of police custody.
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(Based on inputs from Aniket Ankush Jadhav)
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
