Greed met its match in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur when a tantrik’s money-multiplying scam provoked a ferocious backlash. Vijay Kumar Raj enticed four youths from Korea with a doctored video of cash cascading from the heavens in a ritual setup. Their Rs 2.5 lakh investment vanished, igniting a cycle of fury that culminated in assault and auto theft.
The con centered in Bilha’s Sambalpuri village, where Raj enlisted three women and Rikhiram Navrang, a sarpanch’s husband, for the January 30 show. Piles of notes, coconuts, and agarbattis created the illusion of supernatural wealth growth, reeling in the hopeful victims.
Reality crashed in—no returns, just excuses. Late January 31, Raj’s dhaba stop near Ratanpur at 3:30 AM drew the predators-turned-prey. In two cars, they pummeled him, commandeering his vehicle, phones trio, and pocket cash of Rs 8,000.
Under SSP Rajneesh Singh’s helm, investigators tracked phones to Ambikapur and Korea, arresting the quartet on February 2. Seized: the pilfered car, mobiles, money, and crime-scene Creta-Ertiga duo, hauled to Bilaspur.
The youths admitted vengeful looting, yet scrutiny unmasked Raj’s own guilt in tantra-based thievery. Bilha police filed fraud charges against the tantrik’s syndicate, as stated by ASP Madhulika Singh. This explosive episode exposes the perils of pseudospiritual swindles, where duped dreams can explode into lawless reprisals across rural India.