Delhi: 52-Year-Old Man Rapes 12-Year-Old Girl on Pretext of Occult, Held

New Delhi: A minor girl was allegedly raped by a 52-year-old man in a graveyard in west Delhi's Rohini under the guise of performing occult rituals to cure her ailing father on Tuesday.

According to the complaint lodged by the 12-year-old victim, the accused, Mohammad Sharif, lured her to the graveyard in Kanjhawala to perform 'tantra' (occult practices) to cure her father, who is suffering from a chronic disease, and later raped her.

"A call regarding sexual assault of a girl was received at Kanjhawala police station on Tuesday. Police team was sent to the spot," a senior police officer said.

An FIR under section 65(2) (rape on a woman under twelve years of age) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and 6 of POCSO Act was registered against the accused based on the victim's complaint, the police added.

"We have arrested Mohammad Sharif. The girl was also medically examined at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital. Further investigation is underway," the police officer said. 

(With inputs from PTI)