Pilibhit: Desperate to save his ailing son’s life, a marginal farmer sold his agricultural land to pay Rs 8 lakh to a tantrik who promised a cure him through black magic. But it was not to be. The boy died. Realizing that he was duped, the man approached Jahanabad police to lodge a complaint but was turned away.On Monday, Ahivaran Kumar approached superintendent of police Manoj Kumar Sonkar with his written complaint. The latter has ordered the police station concerned to lodge an FIR in the matter.According to Kumar, the tantrik came to meet him on December 17 when he was sitting outside his house in a dejected mood after the sudden death of his one-month-old son.The man frightened the farmer by saying that his whole family was in danger and claimed that he could save them by performing rituals. Kumar believed him as his 10-year-old son, Rajneesh Kumar, who was paralyzed when he was six months old, was not keeping well.Influenced by the tantrik, Kumar allowed him to conduct rituals at his house. Initially, he started charging a few thousand rupees for the rituals. But as his spells became longer, so did his demand for money.On December 30, the tantric demanded Rs 8 lakh. “He warned me of untimely death of my family members if the rituals were discontinued.”To meet his demand, the farmer sold his 0.4 acre of land and also borrowed money by mortgaging the remaining land of the same size.But his son died on January 29. This time, the tantrik directed Kumar to deposit Rs 2 lakh in his bank account, claiming his family was in grave danger.It was while getting details of the given bank account that Kumar learned that the tantrik’s actual name was Salamat Khan. He was a resident of Dandia village under Khajuria police station in Rampur district.When the farmer visited his village, he learnt that the tantrik was a known cheat who had duped many. “On demanding my money back, Salamat abused and threatened to kill me,” Kumar said.He then approached Jahanabad police station for lodging an FIR but he was refused every time. He finally presented a complaint to the SP.When contacted, SHO Kamal Singh said the SP’s orders were awaited but an FIR would be lodged and the accused would be nabbed soon.

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