Three brothers get 7 yrs in jail for cheating couple

After the husband developed boils on his body, the trio asked the couple to not seek a doctor, and visit them instead. They charged the couple Rs1,000 for each visit, said Hazare.

The Thane district court sentenced three brothers, who ran a de-addiction centre in Palghar district, to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for cheating a couple from Ahmednagar for six years, on the pretext of “treating” the husband, who they said was “possessed by spirits”.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs1.03 lakh on the convicts, Kantilal Deshmukh, 60; Nandkumar, 55; and Umesh, 45. (HT image)

The court also imposed a fine of Rs1.03 lakh on the convicts, Kantilal Deshmukh, 60; Nandkumar, 55; and Umesh, 45. The de-addiction centre was located in Tuse village,Wada. Sanjay Hazare, who was the inspector of Wada police station when the case was registered, said that in August 2010, a couple from Ahmednagar approached the centre as the husband was an alcoholic. Deshmukh charged the couple ₹28,600 and gave the man some potions and sedatives. While Deshmukh was treating the man, Nandkumar told the wife her husband was “possessed by spirits” and to “cure” him, she had to drop hot candle wax on him. Hazare said Nandkumar told the woman that her husband could be killed in an accident if she did not do as he had instructed.