2 held in Nashik for black magic

When similar noises came out last night too,people barged in to find a black magic ritual in progress. A seven-feet long crater was dug in the house and a woman and four children were sitting inside,with some lemons in their hands and their foreheads smeared with ‘kum kum’.

The children were also holding some taits (a charm against evil forces),they said.

On the complaint of one Balasaheb Yuvraj,police rushed to the spot last night and stopped the ritual and seized some essence-sticks,bones,lemons,taits and ‘kum kum’ from the spot.

Subsequently,two persons,Jitesh Mogal Bhalerao and Vijay Mogal Bhalerao,were arrested while two women,Sunita mogal and Sangita Mogal,were detained. The children were let off,police said.

Police have registered offences against them under Section 3 of Maharashtra Anti-superstition and Black Magic Ordinance,senior police inspector Moula Sayyad said.

Those arrested confessed to conducting the ritual to cure their father Mogal Bhalerao of asthma,police said. The women are being interrogated to delve further into the case.

The Maharashtra Government had recently issued an Ordinance against superstition and black magic.