LUCKNOW: Police in
Ambedkar Nagar
on Saturday arrested
Mohammed Ashraf
(50) on charges of raping a woman from
Colaba
in Mumbai after she had approached him for "spiritual healing". The rape survivor was allegedly held hostage at a guest house on the pretext of being offered spiritual healing by the accused.
The incident came to light when the woman’s family, alarmed by her prolonged absence, intervened, and forcibly entered the guest house room.
The accused fled the scene only to be arrested later after an FIR was lodged by the complainant.
Baskhari SHO Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Friday evening, a family from Maharashtra arrived at the guest house, located within the jurisdiction of Kichhauchha under Baskhari. A man, his mother, and wife had visited the guest house, seeking spiritual assistance from the accused. “Upon their arrival at the guest house, they encountered the accused Syed Mohammad Ashraf, a resident of Kichhauchha. Ashraf purportedly offered to perform dua-taweez (prayer and amulet services) for the man’s wife, assuring them of her better health. Subsequently, he led all of them to a room within the guest house for other rituals,” said Singh based on the FIR lodged by the woman’s husband.
Instead of conducting prayer and amulet service in presence of the family, Ashraf asked them to wait outside and closed the door behind them, the SO said. Alarming concerns arose when the woman did not venture out after several hours and her mother attempted to open the door but found it locked from Ninside. Later, they broke open the door and found her in a distraught state, crying. In the meantime, the accused managed to escape.
English (US) ·