Man booked for duping Thane family of Rs 1.66 crore with ‘black magic’ claims
A man from Mumbai was booked for allegedly duping a Thane family of Rs 1.66 crore by exploiting their fear of black magic. Police said he manipulated them with rituals and pilgrimages over two years. No arrest has been made yet
Thane: A family from Maharashtra’s Thane district was allegedly swindled of more than Rs 1.66 crore by a man who exploited their fear of “black magic” and promised them divine remedies through elaborate rituals and pilgrimages, police said on Sunday.
The Kasarvadavali police on April 2 registered a first information report (FIR) against Manjunath Shetty, a resident of Andheri in neighbouring Mumbai, based on the family’s allegations that they were manipulated into paying the accused over a period of two years to “neutralise black magic” performed by a relative, an official said.
According to the complaint, the family’s ordeal began in January 2024 when they met Shetty at an event. On learning about their financial struggles, he convinced them that a relative had performed “black magic” on them to hinder their progress.
To counter this, Shetty prescribed a series of elaborate rituals and a mandatory pilgrimage to the 12 Jyotirlingas, temples of Lord Shiva. By exploiting a series of minor mishaps in the family, he allegedly manipulated them into making several payments, the official said.
Between February and April 2024, he took Rs 10 lakh in cash to purchase ritual materials. From May 2024 to January 2026, the family transferred approximately Rs 1.56 crore through online transactions to various bank accounts belonging to the accused and his mother, he said.
The accused also claimed he needed money for pending court cases, warning that if he were jailed, the rituals would remain incomplete and the family’s situation would never improve, the official said.
While no arrest has been made yet, the police have registered a case against Shetty under section 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013, he said.
