Astrologer gets 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping Coimbatore woman

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore district mahila court on Thursday sentenced a 40-year-old astrologer to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping a woman in Peelamedu in March 2021.
Mahila court judge R Nandhini Devi awarded the rigorous imprisonment to M Babu of Udumalpet in Tirupur district.
Babu, an astrologer, used to perform parihara (remedial) puja.
A 37-year-old Peelamedu woman was taking care of her elder and younger brothers who were suffering from learning difficulties. Her parents were daily wage labourers. Her elder brother died in 2019 and she had taken care of her younger brother. She was not able to handle the younger brother whenever he became ferocious.
One of their relatives suggested that her parents meet astrologer Babu who would solve their problems. The family asked Babu to visit their residence on March 12, 2021 to conduct a special puja to help them overcome the difficulties.
Babu conducted a puja for the woman’s younger brother. Later, he told her parents that he would conduct a special puja for their daughter as she was unmarried.
He asked the parents to wait outside the room for a while. He started the puja with their daughter. He told her that gods had instructed him to have sex with her. He raped her. He also made the woman promise that she would not reveal the incident to anyone. Otherwise, the family members' health conditions would deteriorate, he warned.
The woman was in severe depression, and she revealed the incident to her parents. The parents approached the Peelamedu police who registered a case against Babu. The case was transferred to the East all-women police.
The trial was held in the district mahila court. Special public prosecutor B Jisha appeared on behalf of the woman.