Exorcising jewellery out of unsuspecting hospital visitors

[Naveed Yaseen]

By M. Zeeshan Azmat
A man pretending to be an exorcist conned a woman out of jewellery worth Rs0.3million from the main gate of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), The News has learnt.

Mehtab Bibi was accompanying her daughter to JPMC for a check-up, when she was accosted by a man who claimed that her daughter was suffering from a spiritual problem rather than a medical one. Convinced by the man, Mehtab followed him to the entrance of the hospital where a Baba Ji (an elderly man) was sitting.

The Baba persuaded Mehtab into believing that he was a Peer (Mystic). According to Mehtab, she was entranced by the ruse to such an extent that she could not think straight. At this point, the fake Peer asked Mehtab to handover her gold valuables, specially the bangles, in order for him to pronounce the exorcism.

Without questioning the peer, Mehtab handed over her jewellery, which he placed in a handkerchief, and directed her not to open the parcel till she was home. He also asked her to not look back when she was leaving.

When Mehtab got home, she discovered that the jewellery in the handkerchief had been replaced and she had been swindled. “I couldn’t believe my eyes,” she added.

By the time Mehtab informed her husband, it was too late and when they went back to the hospital, the con artists had disappeared. “We even thought of reporting it to the police and lodging an FIR, but my elder son said that it will be of no use while the family would be harassed during investigations,” she added.

In another incident, a house wife, Samina (not her real name), was also robbed of two rings and six bangles at gun point outside JPMC. Even though she belonged to an affluent family, they did not bother reporting the incident for similar reasons as Mehtab’s family.

When contacted, the JPMC management asserted that individuals should behave more responsibly, while police deployed at the hospital should take such cases seriously. The representative of the hospital management also stated that the management has placed information boards to warn visitors in this regard.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=155305