Mumbai: Promising better life, Tantrik lured poor kids and molested them

In yet another instance of a baba proving to be a black sheep the Charkop police have arrested a tantrik who had been posing as a dogooder and getting a 16yearold girl drunk and molesting her for several months They have rescued three other girls believed to be around 13 years old who were also living with himAnil BharateAccording to the police Anil Bharate 67 used to target girls from poor families and offer to give them a nice place to stay and pay for their education and other expenses He would also offer to help out the families if they allowed him to lsquohelprsquo their daughtersAnil Bharate approached the poor girlrsquos family members whom he knew well and said he would pay for her education and other expenses He convinced them to let her stay at his rented house in VirarThe family members of the 16yearold survivor who live in Kandivli had been similarly tricked by Bharate and they had allowed her to live with the tantrik in a flat that he had taken on rent in Virar The girlrsquos family is very poor and they thought that Bharate really intended to help them outFor the past few months he had been giving the girl alcohol claiming it was a health tonic He would molest her and abuse her when she fell asleepWhile Bharate did pay for the survivorrsquos education and other expenses he began molesting her over the past few months ldquoBharate was like my grandfather but he wronged me From the past few months he used to come close to me and try to touch me inappropriatelyWhen Bharate gave her alcohol and molested her again on Sunday the girl informed her mother who took her to the Charkop police station to file a complaint the same nightI caught him touching me late at night many times but he pretended to be asleep For the past two months he had been molesting me after making me drink alcoholrdquo the girl told the Charkop police in her statement Bharate allegedly used to make the girl consume the alcohol by claiming that it was a tonic for good healthPolice arrested Bharate from his Virar flat yesterday They realised that he had also kept three girls believed to around 13 years old at his flat in Kandivli and rescued them IllustrationsAmit BandrePolice SubInspector Anita Tonde of Charkop police station said ldquoThe survivorrsquos mother had faith in the baba and allowed her daughter to stay with him in Virar The accused would sleep next to the survivor in the flat and gave alcohol to her on several occasionsLate at night when the survivor was in deep sleep he allegedly molested her and abused herrdquo ldquoShe realised what was happening on a few occasions but she was not sure On Sunday night Bharate gave her alcohol and molested her again This time the survivor ran from the house and informed her mother about the incidentThe mother approached us the same night and we arrested the accused on Monday morningrdquo said an officer from Charkop police stationOther girlsBharate who also has a flat in Pushp Mitra society in Kandivli West kept three minor girls from Latur there The girls are believed to be about 13 years old and he would take care of their education and other expenses as wellThe police suspect he had tricked their families into letting them come and live with him in Mumbai PSI Tonde said ldquoWe also found three 13yearold girls from the accusedrsquos Kandivli residence We suspect that he had molested these girls as well The three girls are from Latur and belong to poor families