Allahabad, September 2: A self-proclaimed godman, arrested for raping a minor girl of Fatehpur district after kidnapping her over three years ago, has been denied bail by the Allahabad High Court. Dismissing accused Bhootnath's bail plea, Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh said, "A hapless girl had been ravished by the accused. The crime is not only against the victim but against the whole society."

“A rapist does not only violate the victim's personal integrity but leaves indelible marks on her very soul,” he added. Also Read | Home Ministry Extends Visas of Foreign Nationals Stranded in India Till September 30.

The case dates back to June 1, 2019, this year when the girl's father had lodged an FIR with the police saying his minor daughter had gone out to the field to attend the call of nature in the evening but did not return home. Also Read | Nexarise - The Rising Innovators of the 21st Century.

On the girl's father complaint, the police had lodged an FIR under section 363 of the Indian Penal Code, suspecting that she had been kidnapped. The victim was recovered after one month on July 2, 2019, from the possession of Bhootnath alias Ramdas alias Babaji from Jamnagar district in Gujarat with the help of local police and was produced before a Fatehpur court on July 5.

In her statement, the victim had stated that she has been lured away by the applicant who raped her repeatedly while keeping her in his captivity. On the girl's statement, sections 376 (rape), 323 (hurt) of IPC, and 3/4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) were added in the FIR.

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