The accused priest told the victim that she was possessed by evil spirits and needed a specific religious ceremony to heal her, police said.  

Updated on: Aug 28, 2026, 18:17:35 IST

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A New York-based Hindu priest has been arrested in Canada for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman on pretext of a ‘religious ceremony’ to heal her of evil spirits in Oshawa, police said.

The accused priest has been identified as 50-year-old Rajendranauth Doodnauth Maraj. The incident unfolded when the victim's family invited him from the USA to Canada perform a religious ceremony. There, he convinced the victim that she was possessed by evil spirits and that a specific religious ceremony was needed to heal her, Durham Regional Police said in a statement.

Sexually abused at a private location

Maraj then called her to a private location where he sexually assaulted the victim under the guise of performing a religious ceremony. The case came to light when the family reached out to the police on August 25. A police team was dispatched and Maraj was taken into custody on the family's complaint. He has been charged with one count of sexual assault.

“The pandit deceived the victim into believing she was possessed by evil spirits and needed a specific ritual to heal herself. The suspect exploited the victim into attending a private location where the suspect sexually assaulted the victim under the guise of performing a religious ceremony,” the police said further.

However, the police now suspect that there may be more victims sexually assaulted by Maraj and have urged anyone with information to come forward.

Woman sexually abused after man poses as transgender

A similar case of sexual abuse emerged from Mumbai a week ago where a woman was abused by a man who posed as a transgender. The accused sexually assaulted the woman on pretext of performing a ritual on her to bless her with a child.

The accused, Anil Shinde, reportedly arrived at the woman's flat posing as a transgender, when an elderly relative of the couple opened the door for him. The woman's husband was at work at that time.

Shinde initially pretended to bless the elderly woman, police said. But during his conversation, Shinde learnt that there was a young woman in the house and had no child despite being married for several years.

He then offered to perform a ritual on the woman that would bless the couple with a child. He allegedly spoke to the young woman for some time and then asked her to lie down on the bed, police said. He first touched her head on pretext of performing the ritual and then touched her inappropriately and sexually assaulted her, the report added, citing police.

She realised that she had been sexually assaulted almost an hour after Shinde left the house, telling her that she would be soon blessed with a child. Shinde demanded money before leaving and the woman allegedly gave him ₹2,000.

After realising that she had been sexually assaulted, the woman informed her husband and the couple approached Powai police station that evening. The police registered a rape case and began examining the CCTV footage from the building and surrounding areas in which they allegedly spotted Shinde boarding an autorickshaw. He was traced to Kalwa and was detained on Wednesday night.

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