When a 27-year-old woman from Delhi went to a neighbourhood occultist, she was hoping for some magic touch to cure her chronic illness. But the self-stated diviner, who boasts of more than a hundred female followers, allegedly raped the mother-of-three. The crime comes against the backdrop of Delhi Police’s struggles to obtain convictions in cases of sexual assault, a fact borne out by its own data accessed by Mail Today.

Cops say the black magic practitioner appears to be a serial rapist, but other victims are scared of filing complaints. The woman called the police control room on April 23, alleging rape by the occultist in a hotel room.

She accused him of first giving her a sedative laced drink and then sexually assaulting her. The medical report confirmed rape, police said. A case was registered at Aman Vihar police station in outer Delhi.

Speaking to MAIL TODAY, her mother-in-law revealed that the woman and her month-old child were missing since filing of the case. The victim’s husband is living with their other two kids.

The woman came to know the accused about a year ago after he moved into an adjacent home. When he learnt about her illness nearly two months ago, he promised to cure her with black magic and waived the fee.

Trusting him, the ailing woman started visiting him. In her complaint, the victim mentioned that the accused used to do “jhaadphoonk”, or sorcery, and several women would come to his residence for treatment.

MAIL TODAY has a copy of the first information report (FIR). Officers close to investigation said a raid was conducted at the accused’s residence but he was absconding.

“Since then, several of his followers have approached the police and narrated their ordeals. However, none of them are willing to turn complainants, fearing legal hassles and the possibility of family trouble,” said an officer.

A forensic team that visited the spot said the accused may have drugged his victims. He may also have shot some embarrassing videos of his followers, which he then used to blackmail them.

While the police department has launched a manhunt in the case, its record in prosecuting similar crimes is less than stellar despite efforts to fast-track probes and trials. According to the data accessed by MAIL TODAY, as many as 2,146 cases of rape were reported at various police stations of the national Capital last year.

Of these, Delhi Police managed to file charge sheets in only 1,232 cases. And the accused were convicted in just 56 cases, while in six they were acquitted by courts. A total of 1,167 cases remained pending trial.

The department says that once an accused is arrested, a charge sheet is filed within 20 to 30 days. The maximum time allowed to the police for filing a charge sheet before a magistrate in cases of rape is 90 days.

When asked about the low number of charge sheets, senior officers said in most of the cases the accused are not arrested.

“If the accused is not arrested, the investigating officer has to decide whether to make a closure report or file a charge sheet,” said one of them. In 2014, Bhim Sain Bassi, the then Delhi Police commissioner, announced that the department will file a charge sheet in a rape case within 20 days once the accused is arrested. “At times, questions are raised over the time taken in filing the charge sheets after the arrest of the accused. Any delay in this will delay imparting of justice.

Today, we have issued an order to file charge sheets in rape cases within 20 day of arrest, so that justice is served on time,” he had said. If no charge sheet is filed even in 30 days, the special commissioner of police (crime) is informed and subsequently he has to explain the reasons for the delay to the police chief.