Kerala man held for 'Black Magic' claims, cheats friend of ₹2 cr

CHENNAI: A Chennai man lost more than Rs 2 crore to his family friend from Kerala, who claimed that he is well versed in 'black magic' and cheated the money from his friend, by promising that he could make him converse with the spirit of godman, Puttaparthi Sai Baba and deceased family members.

The victim, Gautham Sivasami (51) of Anderson Road in Chennai got acquainted with the accused, Subramani (52) in 2005 when they both worked together in Nigeria.

After they moved from the African nation, the two of them had remained in touch and were family friends for close to two decades.

Taking advantage of Gautham's inclination towards spirituality, Subramani lured him into a world of rituals where he claimed that he can speak with the dead.

To make Gautham believe, Subramani orchestrated an elaborate con where the visit to the place of ritual itself was tedious and when they carried out the rituals, plates used to move and lemons appeared out of nowhere, which Gautham learnt were mere tricks, after he realised he was being taken for a ride.

According to Central Crime Branch (CCB) Sub Inspector, K Sujatha, Subramani had sent emails to Gautham in which he exchanged the alleged conversation which he had with Gautham's mother. Believing Subramani, Gautham changed his looks and made modificiations to his house too, the SI said.

Over a period of four years, from 2015 to 2019, Subramani had taken more than Rs 2 crore from Gautham. After realising that he was conned, Gautham filed a complaint with the Chennai Police in 2022.

The Entrustment Document Fraud (EDF) wing of CCB arrested Subramani from his house in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.