Even as cops trudge along with a probe that has seen little real progress, curiously roadside astrologers and palmists continue to do brisk business, some of them adjacent to the spot where the crusader was killed, even after the state government issuing the anti-superstition and black magic ordinance. To bring this bizarre situation to light, MiD DAY interacted with four palmists and astrologers at four different spots in the city – one near Balgandhara Rangamandir (meters away from the site where Dabholkar was shot dead), two adjacent to Shaniwarwada, and one close to Sassoon Hospital. The reporter posed them the same set of questions, and got varied responses, as the ‘mystics’ tried to sell him some lucky charms.u00a0

Jaago graahak jaago
Reacting to this, Milind Deshmukh, chief secretary of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) and a close associate of Dr Dabholkar said, “We have been insisting that astrology and related practices should either be tagged as entertainment or brought under the purview of consumer courts, but neither has been done. f an astrologer is advertising certain benefits through luck charms and the customer does not get them, then the latter should get compensation. If these people are promising to give money back if the lucky charm did not work they should give interest on the money they have taken.” The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was formulated by Parliament to protect interests of consumers. It makes provision for the establishment of consumer councils and other authorities for the settlement of consumers’ disputes and for matters connected therewith.