A recent incident of fraud has sparked widespread debate and public concern after an uncle-nephew duo was arrested for swindling Rs 15 lakh worth of jewellery from a resident of Marchoi village in the Satgawan block of Koderma district.
The victim, 46-year-old Pankaj Kumar Singh, had been suffering from filariasis for several years and had grown weary of seeking treatment from various hospitals with no improvement. One day, while working in his field, Pankaj was approached by three men riding two motorcycles who inquired about his swollen feet. After he shared his struggles with the disease, the men introduced themselves as tantriks, claiming they could cure his condition. They demanded a goat as payment for their services. Desperate for a cure, Pankaj offered them two goats instead.
The fraudsters were brought into Pankaj’s home, where they pretended to perform occult rituals for half an hour. After the ritual, they instructed Pankaj and his wife to gather all the gold jewellery in the house, claiming that more gold would accelerate the healing process. Trusting them completely, Pankaj’s wife collected jewellery worth around Rs 15 lakh and wrapped it in a red cloth as instructed.
The men then told Pankaj to bathe three times while they performed the final part of the ritual. They warned Pankaj’s wife not to watch and instructed her to stand facing the wall. When Pankaj returned, the fraudsters tied the red cloth containing the jewellery around his swollen feet and placed it on the bed, assuring him that the jewellery had been purified. They advised him to leave the cloth unopened for half an hour and to continue the ritual for 41 days to cure his illness. After issuing these final instructions, the men left, warning Pankaj not to look back.
Half an hour later, when Pankaj unwrapped the red cloth, he found only rice grains inside, realising he had been thoroughly deceived.
The local police were informed, and the news was relayed to the Nawada police in Bihar. The two criminals, identified as Md. Shamshad and Md. Chunnu was arrested. They had been living in a rented house disguised as sadhus and are now being interrogated by the police regarding the stolen jewellery.
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