Documentary record Bound by Fear
← Explore all cases
Conviction Claimed spiritual healing or mediumship Nalagarh, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India · 2026

India: self-styled healer sentenced to life for raping a woman who sought treatment, then threatening her family with tantric curses

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

self-styled faith healer ('Baba') offering jhaad-phoonk and herbal treatment

Organization

No organization assigned

Spiritual nexus

The victim came to the defendant specifically seeking his claimed healing powers; he exploited that vulnerability to assault her, then used a further claim of spiritual/tantric power to intimidate her family into silence.

  • Spiritual healing or treatment
  • Threatened spiritual consequence

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2026-04-19 · conviction and sentence

    Additional District and Sessions Court, Nalagarh, Himachal Pradesh, India. Jagdish, a self-styled faith healer known as 'Baba' who claimed to cure ailments through exorcism rituals and herbal remedies, was convicted of raping a woman who had approached him for treatment. When her family later refused further treatment, he threatened them with tantric curses. He was sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 376 IPC plus two years under Section 506 (criminal intimidation), with fines totalling Rs 52,000.

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • healing/treatment pretext used to gain access to the victim
  • threats of tantric curses against the family when treatment was refused

Primary record

Sources

regional newspaper court reporting verdict and sentencing report 'इलाज के बहाने दुष्कर्म के दोषी ढोंगी बाबा को उम्रकैद, साथ में 50 हजार रुपये जुर्माना', Amar Ujala, 19 Apr. 2026.

Report of the conviction, sentence, and the treatment-pretext and tantric-curse-threat facts, sourced to the sub-district prosecutor.

Related record

Related cases · Claimed spiritual healing or mediumship

← Explore all cases