Tantrik held for cheating businessman of Rs 13 lakh

A 48-year-old tantrik was arrested on Friday for cheating a businessman of Rs 13 lakh under the pretext of curing him of all his ailments.

A 48-year-old tantrik was arrested on Friday for cheating a businessman of Rs 13 lakh under the pretext of curing him of all his ailments.

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The arrested accused has been identified as Shafi Rehman, 48, a resident of Dharavi.

The complainant Shyam Kumar Shrivastav, 77, is a Malabar Hill-based businessman, who suffers from diabetes and is also a heart patient. Shrivastav’s secretary, Ashish Waman, saw an advertisement in a local newspaper in October, last year, in which Rehman claimed to cure even the most serious ailments without giving any medicine. Waman told the complainant about Rehman.

“Rehman assured Shrivastav that he would soon be free of all his ailments. However, Rehman warned that once the procedure has begun he could not back out as that would result in his death,” said a police officer.

The police said the process of curing Shrivastav began in October following which Rehman performed several pujas. He took money totalling Rs 13 lakh from Shrivastav for the pujas. When several days passed and Shrivastav could not see any change, he approached the police and lodged a complaint on Friday. “We arrested Rehman from his residence in Dharavi and booked him for cheating,” said Anil Kumbhare, deputy commissioner of police (zone 2).