Three held after woman alleges sexual assault during puja in Chandrapur

Three people, including a man posing as a “Maharaj”, were arrested in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district after a 27-year-old woman alleged that she was sexually assaulted during a ritual conducted to address her husband's recurring health problems, police said

Chandrapur (Maharashtra): A shocking case of alleged sexual assault by exploiting problems being faced by people and also superstitions has come to light in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, where a man posing as a ‘Maharaj’ allegedly raped a 27-year-old married woman while claiming to perform a ritual to cure her husband’s recurring health problems.

Chandrapur Additional Superintendent of Police, Ishwar Katakade, provided details of the incident, which took place in the Bhisi police station area of Chimur tehsil.

---

According to police, the woman’s husband had been facing repeated health problems, which the family attributed to ‘Grah Dosh’, which is an astrological imbalance that occurs when planets are unfavourably placed, weak, or afflicted in a person’s birth chart.

They subsequently contacted Shubham Latari Khangar, who allegedly presented himself as a Maharaj associated with the Jagannath Maharaj Bhadrabhesh temple.

Police said that on August 30, Khangar, along with his two associates, Sachin Modak and Tejas Walkate, allegedly went to the woman’s house to perform a puja.

During the ritual, the accused allegedly sent the woman’s husband outside on the pretext of asking him to bring items required for the puja. Police said that Khangar then allegedly sexually assaulted the woman when she was alone.

Disclosing details of the case, Additional SP Katakade said that Bhisi police acted promptly after receiving the woman’s complaint and arrested the three accused.

The main accused, identified as 26-year-old Shubham Latari Khangar, was arrested along with Sachin Modak and Tejas Walkate.

Police have registered a case against the three accused under Sections 64(1), 351(3) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation is being conducted by Bhisi Police Inspector Mangesh Bhogale.

All three accused are currently in police custody, police said.

The incident has once again raised concerns over the exploitation of superstition and the misuse of religious beliefs by people posing as spiritual healers.

In a separate case, a court in Maharashtra’s Palghar district had, on August 8, sentenced a man to death for raping and killing a nine-year-old girl in Dahanu taluka in 2021.