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Ujjain-based accused extorted Rs 3.5 lakh from Chembur woman and her husband; police hunt for him.The Trombay police are on the lookout for an Ujjain-basedwho allegedly raped a 41-year-old city woman and extorted Rs 3.5 lakh from her and her husband on the pretext of curing their son ofthrough rituals. The 10-year-old child succumbed last year.A case has been registered against the accused after the Chembur-based couple, who are well educated — the husband is a scientist — but deeply religious, approached the cops.“The couple was devasted after their only son was diagnosed with cancer in 2017. The child was admitted to a hospital, but his parents were not satisfied with the treatment. In May 2017, the boy’s mother met the godman at a temple. She approached the godman and narrated her ordeal to him. The godman promised to cure the illness through some rituals,” said apolice officer.The FIR lodged by the couple says that the godman visited the woman’s house and carried out a yajna. During the rituals, he asked the woman and the child to consume some holy ash. But the mother-son duo allegedly fell unconscious after having the ash.“When they regained consciousness, they found the godman still in the house. He told them that it was done for her son’s cure and soon the child will be fine. He then allegedly took some jewellery worth Rs 60,000 from her and left the house,” the officer added.After a few days, the accused again contacted the woman to tell her that he had detected some more complications in her son and had a cure for it. But he allegedly asked her to visit the Andheri flat where he was staying to know about the cure.As alleged in the FIR, the victim went to the flat, where the accused allegedly sexually assaulted her, claiming that it is a part of vidhi (ritual). He also allegedly recorded the act on the camera and clicked photos of the woman. Later, he used the videos and the photos to blackmail her for money, and even threatened to upload the same on“The woman didn’t tell her husband about the sexual assault. But the godman didn’t spare the husband as well. He allegedly took around Rs 2.98 lakh from him on the pretext of performing various rituals for his son’s well-being. The treatment of their son was going on in a famous cancer hospital in the city. But the accused brainwashed them,” the officer said.The alleged extortion and harassment by the godman continued even after the child died last year.“The accused kept blackmailing the woman till last week. Fed up and traumatised, the woman finally narrated her ordeal to her husband and lodged a complaint with us. The accused is from Ujjain and a team has been dispatched there to find him,” the officer said.Confirming the case, P Salvi, inspector of Trombay police station, said, “We have registered a case under Sections of 376 (rape), 354(a) (), 384 (extortion) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and under relevant sections of the black magic Act.”