Self-styled godman in Telangana makes girl stand on burning coal to exorcise 'evil spirits’; arrested
India Today
Rafi, a self-styled godman from Telangana, was arrested by the police for making an 18-year-old girl stand on burning coal. He told the girl's parents that she was possessed by evil spirits and had to be exorcised to cure her medical illness.
A self-styled godman who made an 18-year-old girl stand on burning coal to treat her illness in Telangana’s Vikarabad district was arrested by the police.
The victim, a first-year undergraduate student from Kukinda village in the district, was suffering from an illness and was not getting healed by regular medication.
After reportedly receiving advice from a few villagers, her parents took her to the self-styled godman, Rafi, of Naskal village, for treatment on Friday, May 13.
Rafi used to run a ‘cure’ camp at a dargah every Friday where a large number of people came to get solutions to their various problems.
It is alleged that the self-styled godman told the girl's parents that the 18-year-old was in the grip of bad spirits and needed to be exorcised by some spiritual practice. Rafi allegedly made the girl stand on burning coal. The girl suffered third-degree burns and was rushed to a private hospital for treatment.
After the incident was reported by regional media, police sprung into action. Based on the girl’s statements, police arrested the self-styled godman, Rafi, who was sent to judicial custody by a local court.
