Sharmili Mallick

Bhadrak: A self-styled godman was thrashed and later handed over to police by villagers for allegedly misbehaving with a woman on pretext of helping her conceive a child at Radhanathpur village under Basudevpur area in Bhadrak district late Saturday night.

As per reports, one Krishna Jit of the village and his wife had no child even after five years of marriage which kept the couple and their other family members worried. A 'baba' named Gourahari Tala of nearby Krushnapur village offered to help the couple conceive a child by performing a special puja.

Accordingly, he conducted a ritual at the couple's house in the midnight and later asked Jit's wife to accompany him alone to a nearby crematorium for another puja.

However, accompanied by her husband and father-in-law, the woman followed the baba to the crematorium. But the baba asked the husband and the father of the woman to stay a distance away from the spot of ritual and asked her to come alone.

Later, he allegedly misbehaved with her taking opportunity of her loneliness. But when Jit and his father heard her screams, they rushed to the spot and grabbed the accused.

Subsequently, when the villagers came to know about the incident, they thrashed Tala and handed him over to the officials of Sea Beach Police Station.

Asked about the incident, Jit said, "The accused baba used to come to our house quite often and since he knew about our problem, he told my father that he knows sorcery and would readily help us get a child through special rituals."

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