The mother of a 17-year-old girl registered a complaint with the Powai police in November 2017, alleging that her daughter was raped by a self-proclaimed tantric for the past five years. The man who lived close to the victim's house was 'treating' the girl for behavioural changes. The matter came to light after the woman followed her daughter to the tantrik's house for another round of treatment and saw him touching her inappropriately. On questioning her daughter, she found out that the tantric had been sexually assaulting her daughter from 2012

In January 2017, a 55-year-old house help was held for raping a 30-year-old maid by threatening to perform black magic on her. The accused had assured the maid nine months ago that he would help her reunite with her husband, who had left her, through black magic. The woman was living with her husband and two kids at Antop Hill. After problems cropped up, she left him, took the kids and started living with her mother, which is when she decided to take the help of a tantrik to rid her of marital problems

In a bizarre case of blind faith, a daily soap actress who was allegedly raped and conned of Rs 26 lakh by a tantrik, told the police that the man had come to her dressed as Sai Baba and that she had been convinced the man was a manifestation of the revered saint. The actress had consulted the tantrik, who in the guise of performing a puja to ensure that the actress won a flat in a MHADA lottery she so cherished, raped her. He also escaped with Rs 26 lakh she had made as an offering but was arrested by the Charkop police. The incident occurred in May 2014

A self-styled godman was arrested on November 19, 2015, for allegedly raping and blackmailing a 40-year-old housewife. The tantric first gained the trust of the woman by solving' her personal problems by allegedly using black magic. Later, he raped her and started blackmailing her

A tantrik allegedly raped a 36-year-old businesswoman who had approached him to help her son perform better academically. The woman registered a complaint with the Malwani police. In her complaint, she told the police that her son was academically weak and that she was worried about his poor performance. 'In the first meeting, the tantrik told her he needed to perform a 'mahapuja' at her residence, to which the woman agreed. She even paid him Rs 10,000 for it. The next day, he performed the puja during which he made a fountain of water emerge from a mud pot,' said an officer from Malwani police station. He also assured the complainant he would 'make her son intelligent'. Impressed by his 'black magic' and his claims, the woman started interacting with him more. These meetings led to the accused shifting into the complainant's house. According to the police, the accused gradually took more than Rs 2.5 lakh and forced her into a physical relationship with him. He was later arrested by the police

A tantrik's ruse was exposed on March 4, 2015, when the 37-year-old woman was rushed to Shushrusha Hospital in Dadar after she consumed poison in an attempt to take her life. 'Nobody knew that the woman was being targeted by an alleged tantrik since 2006. It was only after the suicide attempt that she narrated her ordeal in the hospital,' said Police Sub-Inspector Sunil Malgavi from Wadala Truck Terminal police station. The survivor told the police that a tantrik had been harassing her and had even extorted Rs 2 lakh from her, claiming that if she refused, he would turn into an evil spirit and hurt her parents. She said she had first met him in the car showroom she worked at, where he had gone to buy a car. He told her that he was a tantrik and could see into the future and control spirits

The Ghatkopar police had arrested a tantrik who raped a 25-year-old woman on the pretext of rescuing her from an evil spirit. An officer from Ghatkopar Police station said, 'The accused was a frequent visitor to the victim's residence as the tantrik was called by the 25-year-old victim in order to cure her father's pain. Her father was suffering from severe joint pain, which wasn't getting cured even after visiting several doctors.' Since the time he had been visiting the victim's residence on the pretext of curing her father, he was planning to rape the 25-year-old. Soon the tantric saw an opportunity and he sent her father outside the residence by handing him a taviz and asked him to burn it at an isolated spot. Following that, the accused took the victim to the mezzanine floor of her residence claiming that he would free her from all the evil spirits that are present around her. The accused then blew some powder on her face, which made her unconscious. After she fell unconscious, the accused undressed her and raped her.'

A 30-year-old woman in Vasai resorted to taking the aid of a tantrik, who claimed he could rid one of her problems 'within minutes', to handle her domestic dispute and was sexually assaulted by him on several occasions. She also became pregnant in the process. According to the police, soon after her marriage, the woman started having fights with her husband, so much so that she had left him and gone back to her parents' home in Vasai. In the meantime, her husband had also relocated to his native village in Solapur district. However, she later wanted to resolve the conflict and get back together with him, for which she had consulted the tantrik. The case is still underway

A Palghar-based tantrik was booked on charges of kidnapping and raping a 20-year-old girl. Nine accused, who are his followers, were also arrested while he and a close associate were at large. Officials from Mokhada police station said that the survivor was taken to the tantrik by her parents for treatment of an ailment. The investigation is still underway