THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city police have begun a probe to trace a self-styled godwoman called Vidya for allegedly duping a family at Vellayani and swindling 55 sovereigns of gold and Rs 1.5 lakh in cash in the name of black magic.
The complaint is that the godwoman, a native of Kaliyikkavila, and her associates asked for money and gold after arriving at the house to conduct a pooja to “bless” the family to get rid of their bad luck. The complaint also said that the godwoman threatened to kill all members of the family in a sacrifice when they demanded the valuables back.
Viswambaran, the head of Kodiyil family, decided to approach the godwoman after he was depressed by the deaths in his family. Vidya reached their house early in 2021. The Nemom police said a detailed probe will be conducted after recording the statements of the family members.