Conman arrested for 'raping' homemaker in Bengaluru

A conman was arrested for allegedly cheating and raping a homemaker in the city's western suburb, the city police said on Monday.

"Accused Prasanna Kumar, 31, was arrested on Saturday on a complaint from the victim on May 15 that he raped her for at least seven times over the last six months and took Rs 20 lakh from her promising to cure her younger son suffering from epilepsy," Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) M.N. Anucheth told reporters here.

A local court on Monday sent Kumar to a five-day police custody till May 26 for interrogation in the case, registered against him under Sections of 376 (rape), 420 (cheating), 384 (extortion), 504 (breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (insulting a woman's modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Kumar approached the 35-year-old single woman in November 2016 and asked her to donate for a physically-challenged association and befriended her subsequently.

"I gave him (Kumar) Rs 200 and wrote my name and my mobile number in the receipt book he had with him. He called me on the mobile and offered to solve my personal problems, including treating my 4-year-old son's illness," recalled the victim in her complaint.

On the pretext of curing her son and claiming to be an astrologer-cum-healer, the fraudster had been visiting her house regularly over the last six months.

"On one occasion, he asked me to take off my clothes and took pictures of my naked body on his mobile phone. He threatened to upload my nude pictues on the social media and blackmailed me to have sex with him forcibly. He also asked me to smoke a cigarette saying he would see forms of goddesses in fumes," she cited in her complaint.

The victim borrowed huge amounts from her relatives and friends, saying she needed the money for her son's treatment in a private hospital in the city.

"Kumar also took about 300gm of gold jewellery to conduct some rituals to free her from the bad times she was going through," said Anucheth, citing from the complaint.

--IANS

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