AHMEDABAD: A Makarba resident ignored the timeless maxim of The Beatles, ‘Money can’t buy me love’, and in trying to win back the affection of his girlfriend lost nearly Rs 44 lakh seeking tantric magic.
Worse, while the tantric charade was playing out, the woman married another man.
The victim, Ajay (name changed) is 28 years old. He was upset when his girlfriend stopped talking to him. So he sought the tantric route which led to a dead end and financial ruin.
Ajay on Friday submitted a complaint to Sarkhej police, which was later transferred to Ghatlodia police. Ajay stated that in 2020 he came in contact with Anil Joshi, who identified himself as a mediaperson and astrologer.
Joshi told Ajay that someone had performed tantric tricks on his girlfriend and counter-rituals were necessary. Ajay paid Joshi Rs 11,400 and later Rs 21,000.
Ajay told police that Joshi subsequently called to say that someone else was conducting parallel rituals and to allay their influence a tantric procedure costing Rs 72,000 was required.
Ajay paid that too but no change was evident for long. This time Joshi explained that the challenge was onerous and complicated rituals would have to be performed. The new demand was for Rs 1.25 lakh to undo the tantric effects of Ajay’s enemy plus another Rs 11,000.
The complex tantric therapy did not work either. When Ajay protested, Joshi told him to get two mobile phones where all his negative energies will be transferred. Ajay got the two mobiles for Rs 75,000 and gave them to Joshi’s wife who asked him to pay Rs 10,000 extra. In fact, the demand for extra money never ceased and Ajay ended up emptying his account.
Later, Joshi informed Ajay that the priest conducting the rituals had fallen sick because of the rites performed by the opposing side. Joshi said he will have to call his guru from Ujjain.
So Joshi got someone he called Guru Dharam to Ajay’s house. The duo said that there was hidden treasure in Ajay’s house and brought out a small earthen pot. The duo said the pot would yield untold riches once it was purified for Rs 15 lakh.
Ajay said that he closed his father’s savings account and borrowed money from his relative for the pot purification. In the end, Ajay got neither wealth nor love.
For his part, Joshi became belligerent. Joshi said since he was a mediaperson he had friends in the police force. Joshi threatened Ajay of dire consequences unless he forgot about the Rs 43.60 lakh he had paid overall.
Ajay finally realized that Joshi had no real power and went to the cops. Police have filed a case under the Indian Penal Code’s sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 506-1 (criminal intimidation), and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
