Thane man held for practising 'black magic'

Thane: A 40-year-old man from Thane district in Maharashtra has been arrested for allegedly practising black magic and claiming to have powers to ward off ‘evil spirits’, police said on Tuesday.

A woman from Kisan Nagar here was concerned about her daughter, who was separated from her husband and used to fall sick frequently.

The woman had got in touch with the accused, a resident of Titwala area, who assured to treat her daughter and rid her of ‘evil spirits’, a police official said.

She had visited the accused at least eight times for her daughter’s treatment, but there was no improvement in her health.

The accused subsequently asked the woman to bring her daughter and other family members to a crematorium on Padgha-Borivili road on April 20 night where he would perform certain rituals and asked her to spend Rs 5,000 for it, the official said.

The woman found six to eight other persons had also arrived there on the advice of the accused to help them get rid of ‘evil spirits’, he said.

While the accused was performing some rituals, a group of 10-12 villagers arrived there, caught hold of him saying he was a ‘fake godman’ and took him to a nearby temple.

After being alerted, police reached the spot and arrested the man, the official said.

Based on the woman’s complaint, the accused was booked under provisions of The Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil, and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act-2013, the police added.