There are no shortcuts to success. However, we often fail to accept this simple fact of life and fall prey to bogus ‘Godmen’ and ‘Tantriks’ who con us in the name of religion. In India, there have been numerous cases of horrendous crimes driven by superstitions and its a shame.
And the latest one, which took place in the Puducherry, is sure to give you goosebumps.
In a shocking incident, a 32 year-old man named Ashokraj allowed his pregnant wife to be murdered after being advised to do so by a self-styled godman. The husband took the dreadful step on being guaranteed by the ‘Godman’ that he will become a millionaire if he sacrificed his wife.
According to Catch News, the deceased has been identified as Krishnaveni. She was a mother of two children and pregnant with the third.
However, the actual murder was committed by Govindaraj, the so-called ‘godman’, who performed some fake stunts on the woman before slitting her throat. According to a Times Now report, the woman was assassinated on September 15th. On September 18th, the husband lodged a false complaint at the police station stating that his wife went missing.
The woman’s body was traced by the police near a Kali temple at Villianoor on September 19th. Lemons, slippers, etc were also found on the spot which gave the police a hint of the superstitious acts involved in the case. On further investigation and thorough questioning of the husband, he admitted to committing the heinous crime along with the self-styled godman. Speaking to Hindustan Times about the same, a police official said,
“Since we found flowers and ritual items near the body of Krishnaveni, we have been grilling the godman suspecting him of human sacrifice ritual.”
The weapon used to kill the woman and 40 gms of gold jewelry worn by the victim has been seized by the police. They have also arrested two aides who accompanied the godman in the brutal murder.
K Renganathan, Superintendent of Police, Puducherry west region has requested all women of the territory to keep themselves away from religious acts and practices.
“We urge people Puducherry not to believe godmen who ask them to come for rituals at nights. If anyone demands women to come alone at nights for rituals, they can lodge a complaint with Puducherry Police.”
These know-it-all ‘Tantriks’ should be treated like criminals and put behind bars. It’s high time we took steps to educate the society so that people don’t fall for such medieval gimmicks that end with human tragedy.