Thane: Promising to rain money, godman, aides rape 17 girls

Thane Crime Branch Unit 1 officials recently busted a sex racket involving a godman and his team who had abused more than 17 girls and young women The police said the accused godman and his team used to lure minor girls and women on the pretext of bringing about a money shower with his lsquodivinersquo powers after which he raped them during a ritual processThe matter came to light when a 15yearold girl from the Rabodi area went missing last month A case of kidnapping under section 363 IPC punishment for kidnapping was filed by the police Following the successful tracing of the minor girl the Thane crime branch officials uncovered shocking details during her interrogationThe godman lured the girl by promising a rain of cashldquoAfter the minor was traced we also found that another woman was a victim of such a scam Acting on gathered information we arrested Aslam Khan 54 and Salim Shaikh 45 on February 25 Subsequent interrogation and scrutiny of Aslams mobile phone led to the discovery of a selfproclaimed Godman They revealed a disturbing modus operandi which involved targeting financially vulnerable girls and women and escorting them to the Godman The godman promised them a rain of money which could be achieved only through a ritual which involved the woman sleeping naked followed by specific ceremonies that culminated in a shower of currency stated an officialAlso Read Navi Mumbai Drugs by students for students via vegetable vendorsThe crime branch officials said On the suspects mobile phone we discovered a video of a woman being undressed with cash placed on her Subsequently she was told that a spirit comes in the body of the godman who then has a sexual relationship with the victim and when pleased a rain of money is showeredrdquoThe police explained Aslam and Salim shared that the minor girl and woman from Rabodi were provided by an individual named Tausif Shaikh Tausif then disclosed that Shabana Shaikh and Shabira Jabbar Shaikh arranged and supplied the two victims from Rabodi Subsequently we arrested them and initiated further investigation to locate the godman On February 29 we apprehended the fake godman identified as Saheblal Wazir Shaikh also known as Yusuf Baba or Bengali Baba 61 residing in Agarwalwadi AntophillOn checking the phone of the accused the police found out that around 17 women had fallen victim to such a crime ldquoTo confirm the same we checked with the other victims and they revealed they were lured in on the pretext of money and took part in the ritualrdquoThe police also questioned Yusuf Baba alias Bengali Baba who said he used to perform the rituals in a closed room The rituals on the two victims were performed at a room in Virar which was vacant for many days After blindfolding them they used to place the cash and then claim that a rain of money was showered on them If the victim claimed that the cash was less they were told that the spirit wasnrsquot pleased with the physical relationshiprdquo said the official During the interrogation the fake godman Yusuf Baba claimed that he was working abroad in the 1990s and after 10 years he returned to IndialdquoWhen the godman returned he fell to such a practice by someone who was pretending to be a godman who robbed him of 16 lakh To recover the money he started a similar practicerdquo said the police Shivraj Patil Deputy Commissioner of police said We have arrested six people including a godman and two women Further investigation in the case is going on A case regarding the matter was registered at Rabodi police station under sections 363 376 and 420 of the Indian penal code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 and different sections of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice other Inhuman and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act 201315Age of minor he raped