Police said they have arrested a self-proclaimed religious man on charges of sexually exploiting a 28-year-old woman in Maharashtra’s Nashik district.
The accused, Maheshgiri alias Mahesh Kakde (31), was arrested late Thursday night and a local court on Friday ordered him to be remanded in police custody until April 29.
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According to the police, the victim was facing some family problems and in order to find solutions to her problems, her parents took her to Shri Datta Devsthan Mutt in Dharangaon (Khadak) village near Lasalgaon in Niphad Taluka of the district in the year 2024.
There she met the “Godfather” Maheshgiri. He told her that he had divine powers and could cure people. He convinced the woman that she was affected by evil forces and forced her to perform some rituals. He then started sending obscene and objectionable messages on her mobile phone. Slowly, he began to exploit her sexually. They said he took her to a hostel, where he sexually assaulted her and took objectionable photos of her.
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The victim did not disclose her ordeal to anyone, but some activists of Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, an anti-superstition organisation, came to know about it. They took her secretly, after which the victim filed a complaint.
A case of rape was registered against the accused and he was also booked under the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013 on Wednesday night, followed by his arrest.
