- A fake tantrik named Rahul was arrested for duping people of lakhs of rupees in Rajasthan
- Rahul used an Instagram page aghori_ji_rajasthan to pose as an online tantrik and scam victims
- A victim from Delhi paid Rs 1,14,000 for fake ghost exorcism rituals before the accused vanished
A fake 'tantrik' (spiritual healer) from Rajasthan was arrested on Monday for duping people of lakhs of rupees under the pretext of "exorcising ghosts" from her house and "solving" their problems.
The accused, identified as Rahul (20), had posed himself as an "online tantrik" and had an Instagram page called 'aghori_ji_rajasthan' through which he was duping people. This came to light when one of the victims, Manisha Naveen Jilouya - a resident of Delhi's Chanakyapuri - got in touch with the 'tantrik' on Instagram.
The accused convinced her that her house was haunted by ghosts and that special prayers would be required to remove them. To make it real, he even sent fake images depicting ghost-like figures to scare her. He then asked her to send Rs 1,14,000 for performing "rituals". However, upon receiving the money, he stopped responding to the woman's calls and messages, officials said.
Manisha then filed a complaint with the cybercrime portal - based on which the Delhi police filed a case. Subsequently, they collected information about the accused's mobile number, Instagram account, and bank transactions. The police located the accused in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu and arrested him.
During interrogation, Rahul confessed that he had created fake Instagram accounts and websites to exploit people's emotions and fears and defraud them. He also revealed that he ran paid ads to promote his 'tantrik' reels to dupe people.
Investigation revealed that he has defrauded more than 50 people, officials said.
The police have recovered three mobile phones, five SIM cards, three debit cards, and three checkbooks from the accused.
The police are identifying the victims, officials said.
