The incident occurred in CBD Belapur area of Navi Mumbai on July 22, in which the accused locked the victim inside the bedroom of a flat before sneaking out with his money, an official said
A manhunt has been launched to trace and apprehend the accused duo, a police official said. Representational Pic/File
A lawyer from Mira Road in Maharashtra's Thane district was allegedly duped of Rs 20 lakh by two men under the pretext of performing a ritual to double his money, police said on Wednesday, reported the PTI.
The incident occurred in CBD Belapur area of Navi Mumbai on July 22, in which the accused locked the victim inside the bedroom of a flat before sneaking out with his money, they said.
"The 42-year-old victim, a practising lawyer, came in contact with the accused persons - Premsingh Sadhu Maharaj (aged around 40) and Anant Ramchandra Narahari (65) - through a mutual acquaintance. Premsingh convinced the advocate that he possessed special spiritual powers and could invoke divine blessings to double his money through a sacred ritual," assistant police inspector Narayan Palampalle of CBD police station said, according to the PTI.
On July 22, the advocate was invited to a flat in CBD between 6 and 8 pm, where Premsingh and his accomplice had prepared an elaborate setup with photos of deities Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh, he said.
"During the ritual, the victim was asked to place Rs 20 lakh in front of the deity and instructed to go into a bedroom, lock it from inside and repeatedly chant the mantra 'Laxmi Devaya Namaha'," the police official said, the news agency reported.
While the victim was engrossed in the ritual, the two accused allegedly took the cash and quietly left the premises, he said.
"They locked the flat from outside, confining the victim inside the bedroom," he said, as per the PTI.
After some time, the lawyer realised that something was amiss and managed to alert the local police using his mobile phone. The police reached the spot, rescued him from confinement, and subsequently registered a case based on his complaint, the official said, according to the PTI.
A manhunt has been launched to trace and apprehend the accused duo, Palampalle said.
They have been booked under sections 318 (4) (cheating), 127(2) (wrongful confinement) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant sections of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, the news agency reported.
(with PTI inputs)
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