Man Arrested for Raping Teen Under Pretext of Removing 'Kundali Dosh'

Latur: Police have arrested a man in Maharashtra's Latur for allegedly raping and impregnating a 17-year-old girl on the pretext of removing a 'dosh' or flaw in her horoscope, an official said on Thursday.

The accused, Rameshwar Maharaj, a resident of Thakre Chowk here, convinced the girl she had a problem in her 'kundali' (horoscope), which required certain rituals for correction, the Vivekanand Chowk police station official said.

"Under the pretext of so-called corrective measures, he raped the girl at her residence, due to which she got pregnant. He also told her not to mention it to anyone or else the affliction in the horoscope would return. The crime took place in June this year," he said.

A case was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the state's Anti-Superstition Act, Sub Inspector AK Kale told PTI.

Rameshwar was arrested on Wednesday, Kale added.

A local court later remanded him in four days of police custody.