The Delhi High Court has denied bail to a self-proclaimed faith healer accused of raping a minor girl under the pretext of curing her of evil spirits or ‘jinn’ noting that he took “undue advantage” of the vulnerable physical and mental condition of the victim.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, in an order passed on April 29, observed that the accused instead of providing help to the girl allegedly exploited the victim under the guise of treatment.
The case dates back to 2019, when the victim was 17-year-old and had been suffering from poor health for several years, despite medical treatment. Her family believed that she was under the influence of some evil spirit or jinn and approached persons performing ‘jhad-phoonk’ and faith healing.
On the advice of one of her father’s friends, the girl was taken to the accused, who claimed himself to be a maulvi and faith healer. When the girl was first taken to the accused, he asked her strange and inappropriate questions while she was alone with him. Later, he went to the girl’s house and stated that he had to treat her alone and sexually assaulted her.
The girl narrated the incident to her mother the next morning, following which FIR was registered.
