Mumbai crime: Woman, son and aide held for fraud under black magic cure

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Officers at the Powai Police arrested a woman, her son and an associate for claims for performing black magic on a 19-year-old boy in a bid to cure his ailments. A report in The Times of India said that trio, identified as Suman Jadhav, her son Anil and associate Parshuram Jadhav, allegedly charged the victim's family Rs 10,000 for the services.

The accused were charged under the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Evil, Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act.

As the victim used to fall ill frequently, his mother approached the prime accused Suman, a Sakinaka resident, in October looking for a cure. She told the victim's mother that the teenager is possessed by a spirit and prescribed some rituals to perform on him. The mother met Suman three times in October.

According to the police, the accused and her son often gave the victim's mother different reasons for her son's illness. The associate Parshuram also performed rituals on the teenagers. When his health did not improve, the mother admitted him to Rajawadi Hospital. When the teenager recovered of his illness after the treatment from the hospital, his mother realised that she was cheated by the trio. She registered the complaint with the Powai police on November 26. Anil was picked by the police, whereas the others are absconding.

The police said that they raided the prime accused's house and seized materials such as eggs, gulaal, ash, coconut, mask, lemon and a leather whip apart from idols.

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