A 40-year-old tantric practitioner has been arrested in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district for allegedly sexually assaulting a 19-year-old college student. Police said the accused used ritual healing as a pretext to approach the woman.
The accused, identified as Radhu Kisku of Dalsara, allegedly practised Jhada-Phunka, a traditional form of ritual healing.
According to the complaint, the woman’s father had been suffering from an illness. After medical treatment failed to bring relief, the family was reportedly advised to approach Kisku.
The accused allegedly told the family that a supernatural force was responsible for the man’s illness and claimed that a ritual could cure him. He then allegedly took the woman to a separate room and sexually assaulted her.
Police said the accused allegedly threatened her and told her that speaking about the incident could affect her father’s recovery. The woman later alleged that he summoned her again for another ritual and sexually assaulted her at a house.
She eventually approached Tiring police and filed a complaint. Police registered a rape case and arrested Kisku. Medical examinations were performed on both the accused and the survivor. Later, the defendant appeared in court.
The case has also raised concerns over superstition-based practices and the risks they can pose to vulnerable people.