Christian religious leader held for raping woman

A Christian religious leader from Vasai has been arrested for allegedly raping a 21-year- old woman from his community, police said on Friday.

The accused, identified as Glen Subhash D'Cruz (41), was arrested on Thursday for sexually assaulting the woman on multiple occasions from 2018 to August this year, police said.

"As the woman was facing some family problems, she had approached the accused last year to share her woes with him. He won her confidence by assuring to bring a solution to her problems. However, taking advantage of the situation, he sexually assaulted her and committed the crime on multiple occasions at different places," Palghar police spokesperson Hemant Katkar said.

"D'Cruz told the woman that if she revealed anything to anyone, she would suffer the curse of God and also threatened to defame her," he added.

The victim finally lodged a complaint with the Vasai police station, following which the offence was registered late Thursday night, Amol Garje, sub-inspector of Vasai police station, who is investigating the case, said.

D'Cruz was booked under various IPC sections, including 376 (C) (sexual intercourse by person in authority) and 506 (criminal intimidation), he added.