A self-styled godman who allegedly made an 18-year-old girl stand on burning coal to treat her mental illness at Naskal village in Vikarabad district was arrested on Thursday.
The first-year degree student from Kukinda village in Dharur mandal was suffering from an illness, which was allegedly not getting cured by regular medication. On the advice of villagers, her parents took her to the self-styled godman, Rafi of Naskal, for the ‘crude’ treatment on May 13.
“Rafi used a dargah on the outskirts as his hub, and every Friday, a large number of people consult him for various problems,” an officer said.
Rafi told the girl’s parents that she was possessed by spirits and need to be exorcised by some spiritual practice. “He made the girl stand on burning coal, and pressed his feet against her feet and a hand. This resulted in the girl getting third-degree burns. She was soon rushed to a private hospital at Vikarabad,” police said.
The incident came to the notice of the police only on Wednesday evening after a popular vernacular news channel telecasted the news about the self-styled godman and his torment treatment. Later, police took the girl’s statement and registered a case. Rafi was remanded to judicial custody.
