'Godman' dupes woman of Rs3.6 lakh, arrested

Charkop police on Thursday arrested a self proclaimed black magician who duped a housewife to the tune of Rs3.65 lakh over the period of one year. The accused took money from her to get rid of the 'ghost' that was residing in her home. The so-called ghost lingered because her in-laws had allegedly performed an 'Aghori act' on her.

The arrested person has been identified as Sagar Joshi, a native of Karnataka and resident of Bhandarwada in Malad (W).

On Thursday, Charkop resident Sumedha Nalavade (43) registered a complaint against Joshi after which he was nabbed by the police from Malad. On August 3, 2014, while Nalavade was filling water outside her place, Joshi in his godman attire engaged her in spiritual talks.

"When Joshi asked for Rs21, I refused to give him the money since I was alone at my place. Joshi insisted on having Rs11 and said it would being used for religious work. I agreed. Joshi wanted to enter my home and said that my fortune did not seem to be bright and there was a lot of trouble in store for me. When I called him inside he told me that my in-laws were against me and they have done black magic to make my house haunted to invite troubles for me. Coincidentally, I was going through a bad phase due to family disputes and so took Joshi's words seriously. When I sought a solution for my problems, Joshi assured me that he would do the necessary rituals.

But for that I would have to pay him," said Nalavade.

Joshi made Nalavade purchase materials for a ritual and called Nalavade and her daughter to Marve beach. He made them inside a drawn circle for two hours as he performed the ritual. He them asked them to go back home with the left over materials and instructed them to keep those in a safe place.

"Since there were no changes felt by Nalavade even after the ritual, she confronted Joshi. Joshi told her that the ritual was incomplete and he would need more money. Joshi then kept on demanding money and warned her that if she refused to give him money to complete the ritual, her husband and daughter's lives would be in danger," said an officer from Charkop police station.

From August 2014 to January 2015, Joshi induced the victim to pay him cash and valuables worth Rs3,65,300. Later, when the victim realised that Joshi has been fooling her, he became incommunicado. After several months, the victim confided in her husband and informed him about the whole thing. Then they lodged a police complaint.

The police have arrested and booked Joshi under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act.

"Joshi has not revealed the necessary information to us, but we are interrogating him. He is under police custody till June 13. We are trying to find out whether Joshi had trapped any other people by spreading superstition and we are also in the process of recovering the valuables and cash from him," said Ramchandra Gaikwad, senior police inspector of Charkop police station.