A shocking case of fraud driven by blind faith has emerged from Pimple Khurd village in Kalwan taluka of Nashik district, Maharashtra. A self-styled spiritual leader and his associates targeted families from Mumbai by promising to multiply their wealth overnight through secret rituals and occult practices.
The primary accused, Hirachand Barde, along with six of his accomplices, allegedly lured victims with the promise of orchestrating a miraculous money shower worth 15 crore rupees. The scam began on a smaller scale where individuals were asked to pay one thousand rupees with the promise of turning it into two lakh rupees. Through these tactics, the group managed to extort a total of ten lakh fifty-five thousand rupees from five different people.
Exploding coconuts and bags of fake currency
To convince the targets of their occult powers, the perpetrators staged a ritual involving a controlled explosion inside a coconut, presenting it as a divine miracle. They subsequently assured the victims that a massive wealth shower of three crore rupees was imminent. As part of the deception, the victims were handed a sack filled with counterfeit currency and strictly instructed not to open it for seven consecutive days.
When the victims finally opened the sack after a week, they discovered that while a few genuine currency notes were placed right on top, the rest of the bundles underneath consisted entirely of fake notes. Upon realizing they had been cheated, the victims demanded their money back, only to be met with threats of physical harm and elimination.
Intervention by anti-superstition committee leads to arrests
Distressed by the betrayal, the victims approached the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti for assistance. With the organization's backing, a formal complaint was lodged at the Abhana police station. Acting swiftly on the grievances, law enforcement officers apprehended the fake godman Hirachand Barde along with six other associates.
Authorities have booked the accused under the anti-superstition laws alongside various relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Both the police and the anti-superstition committee have issued public appeals urging anyone else who might have fallen prey to similar fraudulent rituals to come forward and contact the Abhana police or local activists.
