India, Sept. 20 -- A self-styled godman, who duped people by claiming to perform occult rites, was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing and filming women and minor girls in an obscene manner and selling the video clips, police said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as Vijayaraja (50), was running an occult rituals centre at Vazhapadi near here and he clandestinely filmed his victims under the pretext of performing rites, before distributing the footage through dark web forums, the police added.

The crime came to light when he allegedly attempted to molest a schoolgirl who had approached him to collect donations for Vinayagar Chaturthi festival.

The frightened student informed her parents, prompting an angry group of family members ...