Ludhiana: Self-styled godman among four held for abetment to suicide

The victim had accused self-styled godman and his three aides of cheating him of ₹73,000 on the pretext of performing religious rituals to resolve his financial problems

A day after a Ludhiana resident ended his life by setting himself on fire inside a public washroom on the premises of City-1 police station in Khanna, police on Tuesday arrested a self-styled godman and his three associates on charges of abetment to suicide.

An FIR has been registered under Sections 108 (abetment to suicide) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. (HT FILE)

The accused — Charan Das, who operates from Lalheri Road in Khanna, and his associates Makhan Singh, Jugraj Singh and Inderpreet Singh — were produced before a court on Tuesday, which remanded them to one-day police custody.

According to Khanna SSP Darpan Ahluwalia, the deceased, a resident of Ishar Nagar in Ludhiana, had visited the police station on Monday to lodge a fresh complaint alleging that the accused had duped him of ₹73,000 on the pretext of performing religious rituals to resolve his financial problems.

The complainant further alleged that the accused harassed and threatened him whenever he sought refund and was only returned ₹20,000.

Police said that shortly after submitting the complaint, the man went to a public washroom outside the police station and allegedly set himself ablaze. He died on the spot. A matchbox and an empty bottle containing an inflammable substance were recovered from the spot.

Inspector Sandeep Kumar, station house officer, City Khanna police station, said, “An FIR has been registered under Sections 108 (abetment to suicide) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the four accused.”