Mumbai: The police have arrested a 44-year-old man for posing as an astrologer and allegedly duping a 22-year-old BMS student of nearly Rs 16 lakh under the pretext of spiritual healing and rituals. The victim’s family has claimed the amount could go up to Rs 1.5 crore as they are still calculating the loss of gold ornaments from their house.The Central cyber police arrested the man, Mazgaon resident Mohammed Hussain Sumara.The complainant, a BMS graduate, told the police that she first came across an Instagram page titled “powerful_spell_obsessed_healer” in 2023. The page offered “free sessions for job, career, health issues”.After clicking a link on the profile, the victim was connected via WhatsApp to a man who introduced himself as Shahid, later identified as Sahil. The accused befriended the victim claiming he could improve her future, career, and personal life through paid “healing sessions”. Gaining her trust over time, he repeatedly demanded money for performing various rituals. The bank account, allegedly managed by a person identifying himself as Rehaan, claimed to offer solutions related to career, health, and relationships.Initially she transferred Rs 25,000 to his account and another Rs 25,000 and he kept on demanding money for various “rituals”. “Between 2023 and early 2026, the victim in 85 to 90 transactions transferred Rs 15.9 lakh to multiple bank accounts provided by the accused. When her source of finance got exhausted she realised she has been taken for a ride,” said a police officer.Her family has alleged the accused also manipulated her into selling gold ornaments, claiming the overall loss could run into crores or more, with exact figures still being assessed.
