Palghar: A 55-year-old self-proclaimed healer allegedly raped a 13-year-old tribal girl in a forest area in Maharashtra's Palghar district, where he took her under the pretext of obtaining a medicinal plant for her treatment, police said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred in the wee hours of Monday and the accused, a resident of a village in Vikramgad taluka of the district, was arrested at around 4 am on Tuesday, they said.

A complaint in this connection was lodged by the elder sister of the victim, inspector Amar Patil of the Kasa police station said.

The complainant said she and her sister approached the accused on April 30 to seek herbal treatment for the latter's irregular menstrual cycle. The man was known among villagers as a healer who provided herbal treatment to patients, he said.

"On May 3, the accused visited the residence of the victim. Under the pretext of procuring a medicinal plant for her treatment, he took the complainant, her 19-year-old sister and some of their relatives in a car," Patil said.

The group departed from Dahanu around 11.30 pm. After driving a short distance, the accused parked the vehicle by the roadside near Charipawan around 1 am. He lured the teenage victim to accompany him into the nearby bushes under the guise of gathering the medicinal plant and instructed other passengers to remain inside the vehicle, the inspector said.