Astrologer Arrested For ‘Sexually Assaulting’ Woman Client In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: An astrologer has been arrested for allegedly attempting to rape a woman, an IT engineer, in Odisha capital.

The accused has been identified as Nilambar Pani.

According to sources, the victim, who belongs to a rich family in Bhubaneswar, came know about Pani through an acquaintance last month. The accused promised to help her solve some domestic issues and gave her some cloves.

As she continued to encounter problems, Pani then offered to conduct some religious rituals and allegedly took around Rs 83,000 for the puja. He again went to her house on December 14 and asked her to marry him symbolically to get rid of her sins. He then sexually abused her and also filmed the obscene act. When the victim started crying and raised an alarm, Pani threatened to circulate the video on social media. He also warned her of dire consequences if she disclosed the matter to her husband, who was staying abroad, and her family members, police sources said.

Besides assaulting her, Pain demanded Rs 2 lakh from her as extortion, she alleged.

Following a complaint, Commissionerate Police launched an investigation and nabbed the accused from Bhadrak on Thursday.

Pani has been booked under Sections 376 (rape), 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 506 (criminal intimidation), 384 (extortion) and 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life) of the IPC. He was sent to judicial custody after rejection of his bail plea.