Kollam: Puthoor Police on Sunday arrested an astrologer for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor girl in the name of excorcism. The accused has been identified as Rajan Babu alias Murari Tantri (52), a native of Vendar in Puthoor.

The accused, who had gone absconding after people staged a protest outside his house, was nabbed from a lodge in Sasthamkotta, said police. He is booked under various sections of BNS, including section 64 (rape), 74 (assault or criminal force) 75 (1) and 76 (sexual harassment) and sections under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

According to the Puthoor Station House Officer (SHO), the case was registered after the child's mother lodged a complaint through a phone call on Sunday. The accused, who practises astrology at his residence, allegedly sexually abused the child there.

According to the police, the victim and her mother had earlier approached Murari for astrological guidance. He allegedly persuaded them that their problems were the result of an evil spirit that had possessed the girl.

The astrologer also claimed that he could remove the spirit through an exorcism.

Following his instructions, the girl and her mother visited his residence in Vendar on Sunday to undergo the prescribed ritual. He reportedly asked the mother to remain outside the room while the girl was taken inside alone. Later, the girl came out and informed her mother about the alleged sexual assault.

"A case has been registered under various sections of BNS and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and an investigation is underway," the SHO said.

Former Kulakkada panchayat vice-president R Rajesh said Rajan Babu had earlier worked as an autorickshaw driver before learning astrology from a senior practitioner and taking it up professionally. He was known as Murari before becoming an astrologer and has been practising for about eight years, he said. According to Rajesh, the accused also operates a travel agency under the name Murari Jyothishalayam and organises astrology-related foreign trips. "This is the first complaint we have heard against him," Rajesh said.