Mumbai, January 27: In a shocking incident reported from Thane district of Maharashtra, a woman was cheated of Rs 32 lakh by a self-styled godman on the pretext of driving away 'evil spirits. The incident took place under Ramnagar police station in Dombivli.  

The accused has been identified as  Baban Baburao Patil, a resident of Jalgaon district of Maharashtra.  Mumbai: Youth Lured in Gigolo Job Trap, Duped of Rs 1.5 Lakh

According to the complainant, the accused had promised to drive away evil spirits from the family and demanded money from time to time since December 2019.

The woman in her complaint said the accused 'godman' took Rs 31.60 lakh and other expensive objects during the said period but did nothing to sort out the problem

Meanwhile, Patil has been booked by the police under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), of Indian Penal Code (IPC). The accused has also been booked under Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act 2013.   

The accused has been sent to 2-day police custody after he was presented before a local court.

In an another incident reported from Pune, a 37-year-old woman who is a management executive with a private company, was duped of Rs 62 lakh by a man posing as a ‘civil engineer from UK’ on a matrimonial website.  Online Fraud in Pune: Woman Duped of Rs 62 Lakh by Man on Matrimonial Site Who Posed As Civil Engineer From UK

A probe has been launched into various phone numbers and bank accounts used by the suspects.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 27, 2022 11:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).