Nashik: A woman tantrik from Nashik was arrested for allegedly extorting ₹1.60 lakh from a woman from Dhule on the pretext of performing Aghori rituals to resolve her health and personal problems. The accused allegedly created fear of black magic and later told the victim that her problems would end if her 21-year-old daughter married her son.
A case has been registered against the woman tantrik and her associates under the Maharashtra Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Act and other relevant provisions. Dhule City Police, with assistance from Nashik Police, arrested the accused from Nashik.
The victim, a daily-wage worker from Dhule, was reportedly facing frequent health problems and financial difficulties. Two of her friends allegedly introduced her to Sarita Manoj Jadhav, a woman tantrik from Nashik.
After hearing about the victim’s problems, Jadhav allegedly performed rituals involving a lemon, ash and water and asked her to consume the mixture along with a peda. She allegedly told the victim that she was possessed and warned that failure to follow her instructions could lead to serious consequences.
The tantrik allegedly pulled out some of the victim’s hair and claimed that it had to be worshipped at a cremation ground. She then allegedly instructed the victim to visit Nashik for rituals on 11 Amavasya and 10 Purnima days and demanded ₹1.51 lakh. The victim subsequently paid ₹1.30 lakh in cash.
On July 14, 2026, the day of Amavasya, the tantrik allegedly took the victim to Kevadiban near Gangaghat in Nashik. She allegedly made the victim undergo a ritual bath and performed a lemon ritual before putting lemon juice in her eyes and giving her coconut and peda to eat.
The victim was allegedly asked to remove her clothes and put them in the water before changing into new clothes. After consuming the coconut and peda, she reportedly experienced nausea and vomiting. The tantrik allegedly told her that it would take time for the “impurities” to leave her body before taking her to her residence in the Mumbai Naka area.
There, she allegedly performed another Aghori ritual using black sesame seeds and ash and forcibly collected another ₹30,000 from the victim.
The tantrik allegedly then instructed the victim to leave her daughter at the house of a woman friend in Dhule and not meet her for 40 days, claiming that evil forces were present there.
A few days later, she allegedly told the victim that her problems would disappear if her daughter married her son. Hoping that the situation would improve, the daughter stayed at the friend’s house. When the victim later asked her daughter to return home, she allegedly refused, believing that following the tantrik’s instructions would protect the family from misfortune.
The daughter was allegedly kept away from her family and, on July 24, 2026, the tantrik allegedly arranged her engagement with her son, Ganesh Manoj Jadhav. The accused allegedly cut off contact with the victim’s family thereafter.
After suspecting that she had been deceived, the victim approached the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (ANiS). Activists Ranjit Shinde, Naval Thakare, Bhushan Patil and Nitin Bagul reportedly encouraged her to approach the police and assisted her with the complaint.
A case was registered at Dhule City Police Station on September 27, 2026. Dhule Police, with assistance from Nashik Police, subsequently arrested the accused from Nashik. Police Inspector Hemant Kumar Bhamre is conducting further investigation.
