Sex -Crimes.

Two held for raping girl in name of spiritual healing

TNN, May 25, 2010, 10.27pm IST

SINDRI: The Bhoura police have arrested a Maulvi and his assistant on the charge of raping a minor girl in the name of spiritual healing.

According to reports, 14-year-old Rewa (name changed) was suffering from occasional bouts of fits. Unaware of any medical reason behind her ailment, her mother took her to a nearby Imambara where Maulvi Sadre Alam (55), a famous spiritual healer of the locality, stayed. He and his assistant Sindhu Singh (45) claimed that their treatment would cure her ailment.

According to an FIR lodged with the Bhoura outpost under the Jorapokhar police station, when the girl was returning home from market on May 13, the Maulvi took her inside the Imambara in the name of treating her. After performing some rituals, the Maulvi raped her. He repeated the act for two days.

On May 15, the Maulvi's assistant Sindhu took the girl to his residence in Gandhi Nagar and he too raped her repeatedly. Both the persons threatened to kill her if she complained to anybody. The FIR was lodged on the basis of Rewa's statement.

On May 17, when Sindhu went out of his house after locking her inside, she raised an alarm. On hearing Rewa's cry, Sindhu's neighbours freed her and handed her over to her family members.

Initially, the victim's mother and brother, a daily wage earner, were reluctant to lodge a case against the Maulvi and his assistant as they were respectable persons of the locality. However, some good Samaritans convinced them to lodge a complaint and expose them.

According to sub-inspector Francis Topno, the police first arrested Sindhu, who confessed to his involvement in the crime, and forwarded him to judicial custody on Monday. The Maulvi, who had been absconding, was also nabbed on Monday night and forwarded to judicial custody on Tuesday. Both of them have been booked for wrongful confinement and rape under Sections 342, 376 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, Topno said.

"The incident is an eye-opener for poor illiterate people, who, in the absence of free medical facilities, approach such spiritual healers," said Mausam Mohanty, a social activist, who works for the welfare of poor and displaced people of the locality.

The victim belongs to a poor Scheduled Caste family and lives in a hut. The right to education bears no meaning for her and the benefits of different government schemes do not reach her.

"The government should create awareness among them regarding their rights so that such incidents do not recur in future," Mahanty said.