"the doctor had paid about 7m rupees (£72,000)."
Police have arrested two Indian men after they duped a doctor into buying an ‘Aladdin’s lamp’ for over £70,000.
The men, who claimed that the lamp would bring good wishes, even conjured up a fake genie.
The incident happened in the Khair Nagar area of Uttar Pradesh.
Dr Laeek Khan went to police after he realised the lamp did not have any magical powers.
He told officers that he met a patient named Sameena in 2018. After she underwent surgery, Dr Khan frequently visited her home to help her with her recovery.
One day, he met a man named Islamuddin who claimed to be an occultist. He offered to sell the doctor a lamp, saying that it would give him good fortune.
Islamuddin even claimed that he could make a genie appear from the lamp. A ‘genie’ appeared when the lamp was rubbed, however, the victim later found out it was an accomplice in disguise.
Senior officer Amit Rai said: “The cheats had struck a deal for much more but the doctor had paid about 7m rupees (£72,000).”
The con artists collected the money in instalments. Dr Khan started to become suspicious when they refused to let him take it home.
The accused said that if he touched the lamp, it would bring him bad luck.
Dr Khan said he realised it was a scam when he discovered that the ‘genie’ was Sameena’s husband, Anees, in disguise.
The victim later went to the police and explained what had happened.
In the complaint, Dr Khan said: “Islamuddin told me that he has a magical lamp made of gold and it weighs around 5kg. He also said a genie resides in it.
“He said the lamp is magical and all my wishes will come true.
“But I could not touch it or else some untoward incident will happen in my family.”
Officer Rai said that the two men were arrested on Thursday, October 29, 2020, under charges of fraud. They also recovered the lamp.
Police are currently searching for the woman who has absconded.
Officer Rai said: “The wife of one of these men was also involved in the fraud. She is on the run.
It was revealed that the trio had also conned other victims using the ‘Aladdin’s lamp’, making millions from their scam.
Officer Raid added: “The men have also cheated other families using the same modus operandi. The total amount of money involved runs into several million rupees.”
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