Online black magic specialists have been conning people; they stop responding after receiving money.
It is said India is a country where the business of fear knows no recession. From ancient times, Indians have turned to practitioners of black magic and occult. With the advent of the Internet, these providers of “instant solutions” opened websites to lure the gullible.
From helping you to get loads of money to bringing back your lost love, these godmen and godwomen claim they can solve every problem — for a sum.
Recently, a 22-year-old dentist from Jabalpur contacted a Maulana Faruq to patch up with her love interest.
“Babaji told me that a lady had thrown a spell of vashikaran (mind control) on my boyfriend, and that is why he is drifting away from me. He asked me to deposit Rs 6,000 in his Punjab National Bank account to cancel the effect of magic, and promised me to bring him back within a week. I sent him the money as I was ready to go to any extent to have him back,” the dentist informed Insight.
A week passed, but the boyfriend didn’t return.
“He asked me to wait for a week and assured me that my boyfriend would definitely come back to me on the seventh day. On the seventh day, Babaji informed me the spell thrown on him was quite complex and needed a stronger counter-spell. For it, he demanded another Rs 7,000. By then, I had figured the person was a scamster,” she said.
The time demanded by “love specialists” to deliver results can vary from one hour to more than a month. It depends on the intensity of the problem, they say.
Ruqsana Begum, the owner of www.astrologerbegum.com and self-styled witch, says she needs 11 days to resolve people’s problems through her spells. During a conversation with her, Insight discovered that she charges Rs 9,000 to “cure” infertility by cancelling spells of black magic.
“On the day of your marriage, a godman used your clothes to bind you in his curse of infertility. Give me 11 days. With my powers, I will bless your womb with a baby. Get intimate with your husband when I ask you to, and then see the results for yourself,” Ruqsana told a woman who approached her.
A baba from Punjab claims to possess supernatural powers to solve his clients’ problems. He asked this Insight reporter, who pretended to be a heartbroken woman, to buy chocolates and send him Rs 4,000 after doing so. After this ritual, he said, her boyfriend will think of her every moment of his life.
“Buy a chocolate and hide it in your purse. Meanwhile, I will throw the strongest vashikaran spell on your boyfriend. As soon as I do so, the chocolate will disappear from your purse and your boyfriend will come back running into your arms,” he promised.
Insight found posts against these people on an online complaints board.
“A person is running a fake website in the name of providing solutions to the problems of people through astrology. But after receiving payment, he stops attending calls. I am sharing the link of website which is http://blackmagicguruincanada.com/reviews.html. He has taken the payment of Rs 4,000 and now not picking up the calls”, complained a person who identified himself as Binny.
Insight found that the domain name blackmagicguruincanada.com expired on March 26, 2018.
Another person wrote: “Kenn Ali and his blog http://getyourloverbackforever.blogspot.in/2009/05/get-your-lover-back-forever.html is fake 100000% fake. Don’t be a victim to him. He has arranged all fake testimonies to attract people. Don’t give a single penny to this person. He is bloody cheat of Bangalore and has cheated thousands of innocent people. He often changes his no. And has many police complaints against him.”
Claiming to provide quick fixes, these people scare potential customers by telling them a black-magic spell has already been cast on them or their dear ones. The next step is to ask for their pictures on WhatsApp with their date of birth.
“Such cases are put under the scanner of the IT Act. Most of the times, people do not file complaints against these conmen. Once they do, we take action to gather evidence. Punishment depends on the severity of the case,” an official of the cyber crime police said.
Jinendra Khanagavi, DCP Crime, Bengaluru, said: “First, we book the complaint of the victim who fell prey to an online fraud. After that, we try to trace where they lost their money and how much. Once we know this, we freeze the bank account of the culprit and then arrest him. Later, the money is returned to the complainant. The detention period might differ according to the severity (of the offence). There might a monetary penalty on the accused.”
