Charge sheet against rapist tantrik

Tantrik Mehdi Hasan alias Zainul Aabedin Shaikh (37)

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The JJ Marg police is likely to file a charge sheet against a fake tantrik, Mehdi Hasan alias Zainul Aabedin Shaikh (37), who raped six girls, five of them minors, on the pretext of curing them.

The case was first reported by TOI on November 29, 2010. Assistant inspector, Santosh Bagwe, who is investigating the case, said, “We have compiled the charge sheet and will be filing it in court soon.” Shaikh, a Bangladeshi national, had also procured an Indian passport under a false name, Bagwe said.

Shaikh met the families of his victims in 2005. One of the victims’ mother told Shaikh that her sons were mentally challenged. “Shaikh promised to cure the girls so that they would not have trouble conceiving healthy children. He then proceeded to rape them,” said Bagwe. “He even raped the maid several times”. His youngest victim was a 13-year-old girl. Shaikh forced the girls to undergo abortions when they got pregnant.

Shaikh has been booked for rape and causing miscarriage under the Indian Penal Code, the Foreigners’ Act and the Indian Passport Act, among others.

“The victims picked out Shaikh from an identification parade. We have 17-18 witnesses whose statements will be recorded before a magistrate so that it becomes admissible in court,” added Bagwe. Shaikh is currently lodged at Arthur Road jail.

The Times of India, February 15, 2011