At least 50 cases of black magic reported in Thane district in last 5 years, most of them during Covid

According to the data collected by Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, more than 50 cases of black magic have been reported in Thane district in a span of five years; many such cases have come to light in the pandemic when people who lost their jobs, sources of income or feared Covid, turned to such gurus to find solutions to their problems

The recent arrest of a self-proclaimed Godman and his two aides in Thane has brought to the fore how these thugs exploit people’s vulnerabilities to earn fast bucks.

The arrest of a self-proclaimed Godman and his two aides in Thane recently has brought to light that at least 50 cases of black magic have been reported in Thane district in the last five years, most of them during Covid. (HT FILE PHOTO)

According to the data collected by Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (ANS) through a Right to Information application, more than 50 such cases have been reported in Thane district in the span of five years, where people have not only lost their money but also their lives.

Many such cases have come to light, especially in the pandemic when people who lost their jobs, sources of income or feared Covid turned to such gurus to find solutions to their problems.

Be it a Kharghar woman who spent ₹35 lakh on a fake Godman to get her boyfriend back or three men from Shahapur who killed themselves in the belief that it would rain money, people from all strata of society including the educated, unemployed, poor and uneducated were cheated by these fake religious gurus.

Last week, Thane Police arrested Kuldip Nikam, 40, for striking his nephew claiming he was possessed by an evil spirit. His social network revealed that he had earned lakhs of rupees by practising black magic.

An investigation officer from Chitalsar police station said, “We were shocked to see his social media where thousands of people have trusted him blindly thinking he is a reincarnation of god. The accused, an ex-marketing executive, had a ghost detecting machine and using trick photography techniques on CCTV cameras, he’d identify and show the images of ghosts in their house and would charge lakhs of rupees to remove it. Just one basic visit fee was more than ₹20,000.”

The RTI filed by officials of ANS revealed 50 cases were registered in Thane district including Navi Mumbai, Murbad, Jawhar and other rural areas from 2018-21. Navi Mumbai alone had 31 cases registered, most cases of them reported in Zone 2 and Nhava Sheva areas.

State Principal Secretary, Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, Madhav Bagwe, who filed this RTI, said, “People have been vulnerable in the lockdown. Many have lost their jobs, faced financial troubles or were scared of Covid in the initial months. They turned to superstition during such times and these fraudsters took advantage of them. Many ill practices like drawing blood for offering, putting the person to sleep for days or investing in expensive equipment in the name of removing evil were observed.”

He claimed that people get caught in a vicious cycle as they are told they would face wrath of God if they backtrack midway, Bagwe said. He claimed that most people also never approached the police.

The Anti-Superstition Act was passed by Maharashtra Assembly in 2013, but so far, very few cases have got conviction in Thane district.

Thane-based advocate, Trupti Patil, often organises workshops in every police station level, to educate cops as to what kind of act comes under this law and what kind of evidences need to be collected, and getting statements of the witness to get conviction.

Patil said, “This is a bailable offence, but by adding some IPC sections, we can make it stronger. At times, the statement is incomplete or evidence is weak, due to which the accused go scot free. In some cases, the complainant gets scared and leaves the case halfway as they fear the Godman would do something. Awareness amongst the police for conviction and people to not fall for such easy promises are needed to remove these practices in the society.”