Former Maharashtra MP Charged After Daughter-in-Law Alleges Forced Cow Urine Consumption

Police in Thane, Maharashtra, have registered a case against former Member of Parliament Vinayak Raut, his wife, and son under the state's anti-superstition law following a complaint by his daughter-in-law, Girija Raut. Two alleged sorcerers have also been named in the First Information Report (FIR).

Girija Raut, who is married to Gitesh Raut, a municipal councillor, alleged that her in-laws forced her to drink cow urine and plucked her hair as part of superstitious practices. She also claimed she was mentally harassed, assaulted, and starved repeatedly over seven years.

Speaking to reporters, Girija Raut said, 'I have faced social, mental, and emotional harassment for seven years. They are from a political and influential family. Therefore, I didn't get the courage to register a complaint earlier.' She alleged that her husband avoided physical intimacy and publicly humiliated her on multiple occasions.

The complaint also states that the family took her to occult practitioners due to alleged infertility issues of her husband. Vinayak Raut, a close associate of former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, did not intervene despite being the head of the family, she claimed.

Police have invoked the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013, commonly known as the anti-superstition law. An investigation is underway.

The accused family members have not yet responded to the allegations. Vinayak Raut is a former MP from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction.