The Bhongir police nabbed an inter-state gang of fake babas/sadhus who were cheating the public claiming to be performing black magic and collecting huge amounts.
Officers of the SOT of the Bhongir zone and the Bhongir Town police jointly nabbed an inter-state gang of fake babas/sadhus who were cheating the public claiming to be performing black magic and collecting huge amounts through hawala.
The criminals were charged under Sections 420 and 506 of the IPC, and Section 5 read with 7 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act of 1954.
The police said that the accused masquerading as babas/sadhus were moving in the localities in search of persons with mental disabilities, suggesting to them that they were having some doshas, and, in the name of performing occult pujas to remedy the doshas, collecting huge amounts through Hawala.
In this manner, they trapped a Kondal Reddy, 53, of Ramakrishnapuram village in Bhongir mandal, Yadadri-Bhongir district, who complained to the police.
The police said on November 29, 2020, Reddy, while returning home from his agriculture field on his motorcycle, came across a snake, due to which he lost his balance, and fell and sustained injuries.
On December 6, 2020, the accused Sanjunath and Gorakhnath went to his office for collection of bhiksha (alms), and enquired about the cause of his injuries. When Reddy narrated the incident, Sanjunath and Gorakhnath told him that he was having sarpa dosha, and that to come out of it, they would need to perform a puja.
Reddy believed them and paid Rs 41,000 for the puja articles. Later, Sanjunath and Ghorakhnath, along with four others named Ramnath, Jonnath, Govindnath and Arjunnath, visited Reddy's house and performed a puja and collected another Rs 41,000.
In this manner, they allegedly collected a staggering Rs 37,71,000 until February 2022.
The six accused used to speak to the victim over the phone and made him deposit cash with hawala agents Punaram, Vasnaram, Prakash Jota, Prakash Prajapathi and Ramesh Prajapathi, who in turn transferred the money to Sanjunath and his associates through hawala agents.
The police apprehended seven persons on July 4, 2022. When the accused demanded the amount over the phone, the complainant asked them to come to the Ghatkesar area where the police caught them tactically. The police seized Rs 8,30,000, 12 cell phones, rudraksha malas, garlands with aghoras, kamandalams, a money-counting machine and more from the accused.