Mumbai: Self-styled godman held for raping woman

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A 58-year-old self-styled godman was arrested on Sunday for allegedly raping a woman from the time she was a minor, a Mumbai police official said.

The family of the victim had come in contact with Suresh Kumar Ravindra Narayan Awasthi after being told about his "divine" powers by some acquaintances, the Versova police station official said.

"On the pretext of rituals, he raped the victim several times since 2019 (when she was a minor), clicked objectionable photographs of her and continued to sexually attack her by threatening to upload these pictures on the internet," he said.

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After she recently told her parents about her ordeal, the family approached police. he said.

Awasthi, an information technology professional, was arrested on Sunday for rape and other offences under Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act provisions, the official said.

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