Man held for cheating woman on pretext of ‘money shower’ ritual

Nashik: The Satpur police have arrested a 65-year-old man for allegedly cheating a woman from Thane of Rs5.7 lakh between Dec 2025 and Mar 2026.The complainant, whose husband runs a sound system rental business, was in deep debt when her acquaintance advised her to go to Nashik to meet the elderly man, claiming he could perform a "money shower" ritual to solve her financial problems.According to the police, the complainant filed the FIR on Thursday night. "She was approached by the primary accused, Vithoba Valmik Jat (65), a resident of Satpur and Baburao Jadhav (45), a resident of Mankhurd in Mumbai. The duo convinced the woman that they could generate immense wealth using occult practices and "money rain" rituals," a police officer said."The victim was led to believe that specific pujas and rituals were required to trigger the financial windfall. These activities reportedly took place at hotels in Satpur and Saputara. Over several months, the suspects allegedly coerced Parab into paying a total of Rs5.6 lakh for various expenses," the officer added.Besides, four unidentified men, posing as police officers, approached the victim while performing the rituals in Saputara and extorted Rs15,000. "After realising that she has been cheated, Parab eventually approached the authorities," the police officer said.The police have booked the suspects under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act.