Godman who 'drove' person to suicide wanted his daughter for occult ritual

An official said a probe has revealed that the accused was pressuring the man to hand over his daughter for an occult ritual, which he planned to perform to unearth a hidden treasure.

Jalna: A self-styled godman, who was arrested for harassing a man and abetting his suicide in Maharashtra's Jalna, allegedly wanted the victim to hand over his five-year-old daughter for an occult ritual, police said on Tuesday.

The Jalna police arrested the accused, Ganesh Lokhande (45), on March 6 in connection with the death of Dnyaneshwar Aher (30), a resident of Walsa Wadla village in Bhokardan tehsil, inspector Kiran Bidve said.

He said Aher hanged himself from a tree on March 3.

The official said a probe has revealed that the accused was pressuring Aher to hand over his daughter for an occult ritual, which he planned to perform to unearth a hidden treasure.

He said the police have invoked the Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Act against Lokhande.

According to the police, Aher and his wife had visited a temple in Dhamangaon, Buldhana district, where they met with Lokhande, who started harassing them.

The accused allegedly asked the couple to hand over their five-year-old daughter and began sending threatening notes to Aher, they said.

The official said investigations revealed that Lokhande had bought an abandoned house in Dhamangaon 15 months ago and dug a 20-foot pit inside to perform a ritual.

Literature on black magic and other occult practices were found on the premises, he said.

"We discovered a pit inside the house, where Lokhande allegedly planned to perform occult rituals, which is why he was pressuring Aher to hand over his daughter for a sacrificial ritual," he said.

The official said further investigations are underway to find out if more people were involved in the conspiracy.