Family’s belief in tantra mantra results in loss of Rs 6 lakh in gold

Two women, including one who claimed to be capable of warding off evil spirits, were arrested by the KG Halli police for cheating a family of gold valuables worth Rs 6 lakh.

Family's belief in tantra mantra results in loss of Rs 6 lakh in gold

Two women, including one who claimed to be capable of warding off evil spirits, were arrested by the KG Halli police for cheating a family of gold valuables worth Rs 6 lakh.

Muskan (22), a resident of Seelampur near New Delhi, recently relocated to the city along with her family and was staying in Kengeri where she met Shamshad (34).

How they did it
The duo devised a plan to make use of Muskan's charming personality to make a quick buck. Shamshad updated Muskan with all the intimate information about her relatives, who then used to visit them posing as a spiritual healer with the ability to cure problems by performing pujas to ward off evil.

The accused had approached the victim posing as a spiritual healer. They claimed that they had the ability to ward off evil by performing various pujas

Since the information given by Shamshad matched that of the victim's family, Muskan was readily believed and this worked well in her favour for a while. Using the same modus operandi, Muskan approached Shamshad's relatives in KG Halli claiming to know why they were facing problems.

False claims
She also said that one of the family members had been hospitalised and claimed that the person would die if a peace prayer was not conducted in the home immediately.

The family (names withheld), was amazed at her knowledge of their family, and therefore agreed to conduct the ritual. Muskan asked them to handover over all their valuables, claiming that she would keep it safe as they were in danger of losing all their wealth.

The magic
She wrapped the valuables in a white cloth and after murmuring some mantras and splashing water around the home, placed the bundle in a wardrobe, locked it and handed over the keys to them. She also warned them not to open the wardrobe for a week and not to discuss anything regarding the ritual with anyone.

Realisation dawns
Trusting her, the family maintained secrecy for three days, but one member of the family accidentally revealed what had happened to another relative. The relative convinced them to open the wardrobe and to their surprise the valuables were missing.

KG Halli police inspector T Rangappa, after hearing the details, suspected the involvement of relatives.
"I enquired and listed the names of relatives who were aware of the recent hospitalisation of their family member.

After checking the list, I zeroed in on Shamshad, and decided to take her in for questioning," he said.

"The duo confessed to sharing the booty and informed that they were hatching a plan to approach one more relative from outside the city," Rangappa added. The police are currently checking whether Muskan had a criminal record in her hometown.