Pune: Man rapes woman, her mother-in-law for 12 yrs; held after assaulting her teen daughter

An FIR has been registered at the Khadak police station by the woman against the accused, identified as Haidarali Rashid Shaikh, a resident of Guruwar Peth in Satara. Shaikh, who is suspected to have duped several others in Pune and Satara, has been booked under sections 376-2n (repeated rape), 377 (unnatural sexual act) and 354 (molestation) under the Indian Penal Code, as well as relevant sections of Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013.

According to police, Shaikh has also been booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act for sexually abusing the 14-year-old daughter of the complainant. Shaikh has been arrested and remanded to police custody for seven days. As per the complaint registered by the woman, the suspect came in contact with the family in 2004, when the woman was suffering from certain health issues. Shaikh claimed that he could cure her aliments, and the family started consulting him, said a police officer.

Senior Inspector Rajendra Mokashi, who is investigating the case, said, “On the pretext of curing the woman’s health problems and the family’s other issues, which the suspect claimed were caused by black magic, he raped the woman and her mother-in-law several times. The family also gave in to many of his demands… he made them buy four cars, two motorcycles, a flat in Satara, an office in Pune… all of them amounting to over Rs one crore, over the years… he also took over Rs eight lakh in cash.”

The investigation has also revealed that Shaikh had clicked some photos of the woman and recorded a video, which he then used to threaten and blackmail her. He has also been booked under sections of the Information Technology Act.  “Even in custody, the man has claimed that he has supernatural powers and can cure diseases. He has even claimed to have cured cancer. Our team is now probing into other cases, in Pune and Satara, in which the man has cheated and sexually exploited people on the same pretext. We have appealed to people to come forward if they have been cheated in the same manner by the suspect. We are also searching for his accomplices,” added Mokashi.