A self-proclaimed tantrik has been arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl, five other women of a family and their house-maid for over one year on the pretext of solving their problems using his "magical" powers, the police said on Tuesday.
Mehndi Kasim Sheikh (37) was nabbed on Monday and produced before a local court which remanded him in police custody till December 3, the police said. His alleged victims were a 13-year-old, an 18-year-old, four women and a 22-year-old maid, the police said.
Explaining Sheikh's modus operandi, the police said the family's teenager boy was mentally ill since birth and the accused took advantage of this to get close to his sisters and other women members.
He promised to cure the boy's illness and end the suffering of the family with his "magical" powers. The family blindly followed his instructions.
Sheikh regularly visited their house in Crawford Market area, offered the girls a potion that made them lose consciousness and then raped them, they said.
Whenever the victims protested, he threatened to destroy them using his black magic. Some of the victims got pregnant and were forced to go through abortion, the police said.
Sheikh has been booked for rape, causing miscarriage, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation, the police said. Further probe was on.