E-Paper
Pune court orders transfer of ₹57.59 lakh to complainant in ₹14-crore black magic fraud case
Pune court directs five banks and insurance company to transfer ₹57.59 lakh funds to complainant who alleged of being cheated by self-styled spiritual healer and her associates in a black magic case
Pune: A Pune court has directed five banks and an insurance company to transfer funds totalling ₹57.59 lakh to a complainant who had approached the police alleging that he was cheated by a self-styled spiritual healer and her associates in a black magic case and his family lost around ₹14 crore.
The order, passed on February 27 by Additional Sessions Judge PR Choudhary allowing a criminal miscellaneous application filed by Deepak Pundlikrao Dolas of Woodland Society near Gandhi Bhavan in Kothrud, was uploaded on March 2.
The case stems from allegations that Dolas and his wife were persuaded by the accused to sell several properties, including their house in England and other assets, and transfer money on the promise that spiritual rituals would cure their two daughters’ serious health conditions. The couple allegedly transferred about ₹14 crore over several years before realising they had been cheated,
The application was filed in connection with the FIR registered at Kothrud Police Station against accused Vedika Kunal Pandharpurkar, Kunal Vaijnath Pandharpurkar and Deepak Janardan Khadke. According to the court order, the case was registered under Sections 318(4), 316(5), and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 3(2) of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, and Section 91 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.
During the investigation, police seized and froze bank accounts, fixed deposits and insurance policies held in the names of the accused and entities linked to them. Dolas subsequently filed an application seeking defreezing of the accounts and transfer of the amount to his bank account. The accounts were in the names of the accused as well as entities, including Vinay P (OPC) Foods Pvt. Ltd. and Anvi Cybernetics. The total balance in these bank accounts was recorded as ₹6,28,209.
Apart from the bank balances, the court also considered fixed deposits worth ₹41,05,544 held in the name of Vedika Pandharpurkar with a private bank. In addition, the court reviewed the surrender value of nine life insurance policies in the names of Vedika, Kunal and Deepak. The surrender value of these policies as on December 4, 2025 was recorded as ₹10,25,929.
During the hearing of the application, the court sought responses from the accused. The order recorded that the accused filed written statements stating they had no objection to the accounts, fixed deposits and insurance policies being defrozen and the amount transferred to the applicant. Their advocate also conveyed the no-objection before the court.
After hearing advocate Vijaysingh Thombare for the applicant, advocate Rahul Deshmukh for the accused and the additional public prosecutor representing the state, the court allowed the application. In its order, the court directed the banks to transfer the specified balances along with any applicable interest from the accounts of the accused and related entities to Dolas’ account.
Meanwhile, the criminal case registered at Kothrud Police Station is pending.
