THANE: A self-proclaimed godman from Guwahati, booked on charges of rape , blackmail and claims to possess supernatural powers to cure cancer, moved Thane sessions court on Monday to seek relief from arrest.

“Godman” Sailal Jedhiya is reportedly on the run following a 37-year-old Thane woman’s police complaint in May about the ordeal she suffered at his hands for two years.

An investigating officer told the court that Jedhiya got in touch with the woman, a senior executive with a private company, on a social networking website in June 2015 when she was looking for cancer treatment for her ailing father. Jedhiya came down to Thane and allegedly convinced her of his supernatural powers by claiming to be a reincarnation of Saibaba.

He charged her family Rs 3 lakh for various rituals to “cure” cancer, said the officer. “He also told her that she was his wife from his previous life and took her to various places, including Kamakhya in Assam and Delhi, where he repeatedly raped her,” he said. Jedhiya allegedly filmed the woman and blackmailed her into submission.

Ashok Sarogi, counsel for the woman, told the court that the accused should not be granted relief as he was “very powerful”, had followers in the country and even overseas and boasted political connections. “If he is arrested, more such cases will be come to light. It is very important to track such persons and bring them to book,” Sarogi told the court.

Police have launched a manhunt for the accused and are verifying whether he had similarly duped other people in Thane.

Jedhiya has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, IT Act as well as Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Ordinance.

The court has posted the hearing to November 9 and police have demanded that he remain present, said Sarogi.

Meanwhile, in his Facebook profile, Jedhiya claims to be a “demon buster, a fire baptist and an agni tantrik”. A few photos show him performing rituals in his ashram.

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