A video of a 27-year-old woman being beaten by her husband with a belt "to get rid of evil spirits" on the advice of an occultist went viral on social media here, following which police arrested the occultist on Friday.
The incident had taken place on Wednesday in Mandawara village of the district where occultist Aanada Ram Bheel had asked the victim's husband Ramesh Bheel to take his wife around their village on foot (parikrama) as a ritual to get rid of evil spirits, which he said was the cause of her persisting stomach ache, Pachpadra police station in-charge Saroj Chaudhary said.
Influenced by Ram Bheel, Keli Devi, the victim, began her walking tour but she lost consciousness while completing it. Instead of tending to her, Devi's husband beat her with a belt and many recorded a video of the incident, police said.
The matter came to the light of the police after a video was being circulated on social media, following which the accused occultist was arrested under sections of The Rajasthan Prevention of Witch Hunting Act.
Police said the victim in her statement denied her husband thrashing her and said Ramesh Bheel had "just threatened her with a belt". However, in the video the husband can be seen beating his wife.
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