KOCHI: Police have arrested a man who stole money after performing rituals to exorcise evil spirit from a person at Nayarambalam. The arrested is Shyam Shivan, 37, of North Paravoor.
Police said the victim’s husband was an alcoholic and she was having several family issues. Meanwhile, a person advised the victim to consult Shyam who is into performing rituals to bring fortunes to families.
“Thus the victim visited Shyam. After hearing the victim, the accused said that there was an evil spirit in her husband’s body which can be exorcised only through special rituals,” said a cop.
The accused fixed a date for the pooja and reached the house of the victim. The accused told the victim that all gold ornaments should be handed over to him.
Around 11.5 sovereigns of ornaments were packed in a kitty and kept with the poojari. He claimed that the pooja has to be performed by family members for 60 days after which the evil spirit will leave the husband and the house. Also, no one else should be told about the pooja.
“The poojari assured the woman that he would return the gold ornaments once the evil spirit is exorcised,” the officer said.
However, even after 60 days, there was no change in the situation. When the family members approached Shyam again, he remained non-committal. Thus they suspected cheating and approached the police.
After the Njarackal police registered a case against him, Shyam went absconding. However, he was traced from the North Paravoor area.
The arrested was produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody.