A self-proclaimed 33-year-old tantrik was arrested by Navi Mumbai police in Maharashtra for allegedly cheating a 26-year-old woman of Rs 4.57 lakh under the pretext of performing some "black magic" to make her estranged lover marry her, police said on Monday.
The victim, a resident of Kharghar, had contacted the accused Baba Karim Khan Bengali, who was later identified as Wasim Khan alias Baba Kabir Khan Bangali, after seeing his posters in the coaches of suburban trains in February this year, a crime branch officer said.
The woman was depressed due to the break-up with her lover who refused to marry her, he said.
"The accused, who hails from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, told the woman over the phone that he will perform some black magic that will make her lover come back to her again and marry her. He also promised that he will spoil new marriage proposals the man will be getting and demanded Rs 4.57 lakh for performing rituals at the Meerut dargah," the officer said.
The woman claimed she had paid the amount demanded by the tantrik in instalments but didn't get any desired result. "When she demanded her money back and threatened to approach the police, the accused warned her against doing so and told her that he would use black magic that will kill her in a road accident," the officer said.
A case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013.
The accused was arrested from Govind Nagar area at Mira Road in Thane district on Sunday.
In another incident, a 35-year-old man was arrested from Ambernath in Thane district for allegedly taking away gold jewellery of a woman from suburban Kurla under the pretext of "purifying" it, an official said.
The accused claimed that he was a godman and told the woman that a member of her family always falls sick and she was facing problems in life.
"He then asked the woman to bring her jewellery so that he can purify it and ran away," the official said.
The accused was identified with the help of CCTV cameras, he added.
