Kundapur: A 19-year-old girl from Goa’s Vasco has accused a Karnataka based ‘self styled godman-’ of raping her in a house near Mapusa town, following which the police have registered a case and sent a team to arrest him. The woman, originally from Achra in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra bordering Goa, is currently staying in Vasco.

A Vasco police official said Santosh Kumbhar, who hails from Nipani in Karnataka and who is known to her, gave her lift promising to drop her to Achra on Friday. She stated that Kumbhar offered her a soft drink on the way which she suspects was laced with some drugs and took her to an unknown house close to Mapusa.

“The woman claimed that the godman, who hails from Kundapur town in the neighbouring state, was present in the house along with another person who she identified as Nikhil Chavan,” police said.

According to the woman, Kumbhar and Chavan left the house after which the godman raped her. She said he threatened her with dire consequences if she disclosed the matter to anyone. The Vasco Police have booked the godman on the charges of rape, unnatural offences, causing hurt by means of poison and others, with intent to commit an offence, and criminal intimidation.

When asked whether the woman was a follower of the godman, the police replied in negative. Responding to a question whether the crime was pre- planned and whether the presence of the godman was part of the conspiracy, the police said things will get clear after the arrest of the accused. A team of police officers has already left for Karnataka to arrest the accused, the police sources said.