Bhubaneswar: Three men have been arrested by the police for allegedly molesting a married woman on the pretext of performing some rituals in Bhubaneswar.
The three arrested persons have been identified Rabindra Rana, main accused, and his aides Sushant Mahapatra and Kanduri Mahapatra. All the three are stated to be from Khurda area.
As per reports, Rabindra claimed himself to be Kalishi, who gets possessed by a deity, and collected donations from people to perform rituals before Maa Mangala.
The three came across the woman, who stays in Khandagiri area of the capital city with her mother-in-law, and came to know that she was childless. The accused reportedly offered to perform certain rituals claiming that the woman would be blessed with a child if a special puja is conducted.
The accused reportedly sought Rs 2,000 from the woman to perform the special rituals.
As per Rabindra’s advice, the woman made necessary arrangements for the rituals in her home.
Rabindra reportedly took the woman to a room on the pretext of assisting her to wear a new sari as part of rituals. However, he allegedly molested her inside the room.
As the woman raised an alarm following the incident, all the three tried to flee the scene.
However, local residents gathered at the site and captured the three, who were subsequently handed over to Khandagiri police.
Investigation into the incident is underway and the three men are being interrogated by the police, sources said.
