GONDA (UP): Police here arrested a cleric on Friday for allegedly raping a Dalit woman for several months in the name of exorcism.
Superintendent of Police Akash Tomar said that the woman, living in an area under Police Station Kotwali Nagar limits, had complained to the police that her neighbour, Mohammad Zainul Abedin, was sexually abusing her for about six months, all this while pretending to 'exorcise' her.
According to the complaint, Zainul also molested the woman's 14-year-old daughter by calling her to his house. When Zainul's son intervened, he hit him too.
On Thursday night, Zainul forcibly entered the woman's house and started assaulting her. Hearing her shouts, neighbours reached there, thrashed him and handed him over to the police.
Tomar said Zainul has been booked for rape and under sections of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.