Indian girl repeatedly raped on mystic's advice

A 50-year-old businessman who raped his daughter for nine years through her teens into adulthood believing it would bring financial prosperity to his family has been arrested. Kishore Bachhubhai Chauhan, who manufactures and sells number plates for automobiles, was arrested along with his wife Anjana, 46, a willing accomplice.

Chauhan, a father of two, raped his elder daughter, now 21, repeatedly for almost a decade on the advice of an astrologer who claimed to possess tantrik knowledge. The astrologer, Hasmukh Rathod, was in turn encouraged by Chauhan to rape both his daughters, the younger being 15 years old. Rathod has also been taken into custody.

Chauhan and his wife have been consulting Rathod, who was known to Anjana before marriage, for 20 years. In June 2000, Rathod told the couple, at the time going through a rough patch, their financial prospects would improve if the father had sexual relations with the elder daughter, then aged 12.



“The girl has said in the complaint that Chauhan and Rathod had sex with her several times over the last nine years with the knowledge and consent of Anjana,” said Shashikant Mahavarkar, additional superintendent of police, Thane.

Maithili Jha, the subdivisional police officer of Mira Road, said the couple started their sexual relationship with Rathod soon after marriage. “The Chauhans and Rathod have admitted they were involved in group sex activities before they began subjecting their elder daughter to sexual abuse. Rathod chanted mantras before indulging in sex, and most of the time his Andheri residence was the location for the abuse,” Jha said.

Chauhan, Anjana and Rathod face the same fate as they have been booked under Sections 376 (rape) and 377 (g) (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code. A Thane court remanded them in police custody.