Vasai pastor arrested for raping 21-year-old ‘depressed’ woman

Mumbai : A 45-year-old pastor of a prayer centre in Vasai has been arrested for allegedly hypnotising and raping a 21-year- old woman who suffered from depression. The matter came to light when a relative of the woman saw the pastor leaving a resort with the woman last month.

The pastor, who runs a prayer centre, claimed to cure people of various ailments. People visit his centre where they prayer and get ‘treated’. He charges a fee.

The woman began visiting the centre along with her parents in August last year. On certain days, the pastor would advise the parents to leave her at the centre and return home.

The pastor would allegedly hypnotize the woman and rape her. On several occasions, he allegedly took the woman to various resorts in Vasai and sexually abused her.

The woman would return home but never told her parents about her outings with the pastor. During one such outing, a person known to the woman’s family saw her leaving a resort along with the pastor. He enquired with her parents who were shocked to learn that their daughter was leaving the centre without their knowledge.

The parents, on questioning the woman, learnt about what had been going on. They approached the police. A rape case has been filed against the pastor at Vasai police station. He has been sent to police custody by the Vasai court.

The woman’s relatives allegedly damaged the prayer centre after the case was filed.

The 45-yr-old who claimed to cure people of ailments allegedly hypnotized the woman. He took her to resorts in Vasai on many occasions.

(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

Source : TOI