A self-proclaimed occultist (tantrik) was remanded to police custody in Jhalawar district on Tuesday after he allegedly kidnapped and raped a minor girl for over three days, police said.
According to police, Prahald Mehar (41) of the district allegedly raped the minor girl repeatedly after promising her family to perform some rituals on the victim to remove the "ill influence of spirits" on her.
Mehar had also promised the family that the rituals would get them rid of their debts.
The matter came to light on June 23 when the survivour's father filed a police complaint.
According to the complaint, Mehar, promising to rid the family of their problems, called them to his Ashram under Raipur police station limits on June 22, Jhalawar SP Richa Tomer said.
There, he pretended to perform the rituals on the minor girl till late at night; however, the two were missing from the place on June 23 morning.
Subsequently, police launched a search operation after receiving the complaint. It eventually concluded on Thursday last week when the minor girl was rescued from Ajmer district, the SP said.
Mehar, who was detained last week, was arrested on Monday after the victim underwent a medical checkup, which confirmed the sexual assault.
A case was registered under relevant sections of the BNS and POCSO Act, and Mehar, on Tuesday, was produced before the court, which remanded him two-day police custody, police said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
