Godman rapes three women, including minor, held

Pune: A self-proclaimed ‘godman’ has been arrested by the Pune police for allegedly raping a 36-year-old woman and her mother-in-law on the pretext of vanquishing evil powers. The accused had also molested woman’s minor daughter. The godman also extorted Rs 10 lakh from the family by threatening to circulate videos he had taken of the victims while perpetrating sex crimes against them. The police has invoked rape, unnatural sex, cheating and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and anti-superstition Act.

Accused Haidarali Abdul Rashid Shaikh (47) from Satara, had been raping the complainant who is 36-year-old Pune residentfor the last ten years. He also raped mother-in-law of the complainant and 14-year-old daughter of the woman. He had repeatedly raped three women between 2005 and 2016.