Girl raped 'on mystic's advice'

A businessman has been accused of raping his daughter for more than eight years, apparently on the advice of a Hindu mystic who said it would make him wealthy.

Authorities also arrested the man's wife, suspected of being an accomplice, and the mystic for allegedly raping the man's other daughter. Police said the father, a car parts salesman from Mumbai's outskirts, allegedly began raping his oldest daughter in 2000, when she was 14, after he ran into financial troubles. "The businessman approached a friend who claimed to possess tantric powers, and the latter advised him to have sex with his daughter to prosper in life," a police officer, Mukund Mahajan, said. Officers said that in recent months, the tantric apparently began having sex with his friend's 15-year-old daughter, also for occult reasons. The case became public after the younger daughter revealed the alleged abuse to two family members, who filed a complaint to police. The businessman and his wife, both 49, as well as the tantric, Hansmukh Bhai Rathode, 54, were arrested this week. The father and Rathode have been charged with raping minors, punishable by life in prison. The parents have not been identified to protect the identities of the children.