(MENAFN- Asia Times) A Bangalore man who allegedly cheated, threatened and repeatedly raped a homemaker while posing as an astrologer and healer has been detained.
"[The] accused, Prasanna Kumar, 31, was arrested on Saturday on a complaint from the victim on May 15 that he raped her at least seven times over the last six months and took Rs20 lakh from her, promising to cure her younger son suffering from epilepsy," Bangalore Police Deputy Commissioner MN Anucheth told reporters.
A local court on Monday placed Kumar in police custody for five days for interrogation.
Kumar approached the 35-year-old last November and asked her to donate money to a charity for the disabled, and they subsequently became friends.
On the pretext of curing her son, the "astrologer/healer" began visiting her house regularly over the next six months. But the situation quickly turned sour when he raped her and used nude photos to blackmail her. She then borrowed large amounts of money from relatives and friends, saying she needed it for her son's epilepsy treatment at a private hospital, the Firstpost reported.
"Kumar also took about 300 grams of gold jewellery to conduct some rituals to free her from the bad times she was going through," said Anucheth."
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