A man allegedly posing as a eunuch and dressed in women’s clothes entered a woman’s home in Powai of Mumbai on the pretext of performing a ritual to bless her with a child, sexually assaulted her and fled after taking Rs 2,000, police said. The accused, identified as Anil Shinde (30), was arrested from Kalwa later the same night after police traced the autorickshaw he had taken from the building.

According to police, the woman lives in Powai with her husband and an elderly relative. The couple have been married for four to five years and don’t have children.

On Wednesday afternoon, Shinde allegedly arrived at the flat dressed as a woman and claimed to be a eunuch. The elderly relative opened the door while the woman’s husband was at work.

Police said Shinde placed his hand on the elderly woman’s head and pretended to bless her. During the interaction, she told him that a young woman in the family had been married for several years but had not conceived. Shinde allegedly offered to perform a ritual to bless her with a child.

He then entered the flat and spoke to the woman for a few minutes before asking her to lie down on the bed. Under the guise of performing the ritual, he initially touched her head and then allegedly touched her inappropriately before sexually assaulting her, police said.

The woman did not immediately realise that she had been sexually assaulted, police said. Before leaving, Shinde allegedly told her that she would soon be blessed with a child and demanded money. She gave him Rs 2,000, following which he left.

About an hour later, the woman realised what had happened and informed her husband, who was at work. The couple approached Powai police station later in the evening, following which police registered a rape case.

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Investigators examined CCTV footage from the building and surrounding areas and spotted the accused boarding an autorickshaw. Police traced the vehicle using its registration number and questioned the driver, who told them where he had dropped the passenger.

Using technical evidence and information gathered during the investigation, police traced Shinde to Kalwa in Thane and detained him later on Wednesday night. During questioning, police established that he was a man and not a eunuch, as he had allegedly claimed.

Shinde was arrested, produced before a court and remanded in police custody until Monday. Police are investigating whether the accused had used a similar modus operandi in other cases.