Uttar Pradesh Police
- Two men who sold an Indian doctor an ‘Aladdin’s Lamp’ for $93,000 have been arrested, police have confirmed.
- Dr. Laeek Khan approached the police after he realized that the lamp he was sold did not give him the good health, wealth, and fortune he was promised, according to the BBC.
- Amit Rai, a senior Meerut police officer told AFP: “The cheats had struck a deal for much more but the doctor had paid about seven million rupees ($93,000).”
- The wife of one of the men who was also involved is still at large.
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Two men who sold an Indian doctor an ‘Aladdin’s Lamp’ for $93,000 have been arrested, police have confirmed.
Dr Laeek Khan approached police in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, on October 25, after he realized that the lamp he was sold did not have the power to grant him the good health, wealth, and fortune he was promised, according to the BBC.
He said that the duo, named as Ikramuddin and Anees, who sold him the lamp would often make a ‘jinn’ or spirit appear from the lamp but later told NDTV News that it was just one of the men dressing up.
Dr. Khan met the pair after he performed surgery on a woman named Sameena in 2018 and began making house calls for post-surgery care where he met them and said she was their “ailing mother,” Vice News reported.
In his complaint, he said: “Gradually they started telling me about a baba (self-proclaimed godman) whom they claimed also visited their home. They started brainwashing me and asked me to meet this baba.”
The doctor said he met the baba "who seemed to perform such rituals" and was eventually sold the lamp which Ikramuddin and Anees referred to as "Aladdin ka chirag' or Aladdin's lamp.
Amit Rai, a Senior Meerut Police Officer told AFP: "The cheats had struck a deal for much more but the doctor had paid about seven million rupees ($93,000)."
He said that the men were arrested on Thursday and were remanded in custody ahead of charges being filed but Sameena, who was actually the wife of one of the men and also involved in the fraud, is currently at large.
"The men have also cheated other families using the same scam. The total amount of money involved runs into several million rupees," Rai added.
Ikramuddin and Anees were booked under Sections 386 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which cover extortion after putting a person under fear of death or grievous hurt and cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.