The incident took place in the Khairnagar area under Brahmpuri police station of the city. Two men said to be 'tantriks' have cheated a London-returned doctor of Rs 2.5 cr by selling him 'Aladdin Ka Chirag' promising that it could fulfill all his wishes. Meerut: A yet another incident of cheating has been reported from the Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh.
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While it may be tempting to believe in the fairytales told by snake oil salesmen, let the case of the Aladdin’s lamp scam stand as a cautionary tale for those who are desperate to find a shortcut in life. The wife of one of the men was also involved in the scam, but she remains at large. They are still in custody ahead of charges being filed. Police investigators later found that the men were known con artists who had scammed countless other families out of money.įortunately for Khan, two of the scammers were arrested. The men had reportedly offered the fake lamp to the doctor for the much-higher price of $200,000.Įventually, Khan realized that he had been duped and reported the crime to authorities. Believe it or not, it could’ve been worse. “The cheats had struck a deal for much more but the doctor had paid about 7 million rupees,” said Amit Rai, a senior officer. Khan reportedly paid a whopping $93,000 to buy the so-called Aladdin’s lamp. Later, Khan struck a deal with the fraudster to buy the lamp after the scam artist said that the genie would bring him good health and fortune. When Khan asked to touch the artifact and bring the lamp home with him, the fraudster refused, claiming that it might cause Khan harm.
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Wikimedia Commons Jinn or genies are supernatural beings that were commonly depicted in old Arabic manuscripts. With this popular tale in mind, Khan may have been overcome by his desires. It is now a popular story around the world thanks to the 1990s Disney animated-feature Aladdin. The old tale is believed to have origins in the Middle East though it’s still uncertain exactly how the folklore came to be. The sorcerer devises plots to steal the lamp away from Aladdin but the street-savvy man prevails, and eventually finds himself taking over the throne of his father-in-law. The lamp eventually came into Aladdin’s possession and helped him gain fortune and the hand of a princess. As the story goes, Aladdin was hired by a sorcerer who tricked him into retrieving an old oil lamp with magical powers. The tale of the genie and his mystical lamp comes from an old folktale about an impoverished man named Aladdin. I later realized the accused was dressing up as ‘Aladdin’.” I did not know who this person was at that time. In the complaint, he wrote, “During one visit ‘Aladdin’ actually made an appearance in front of me. Nevertheless, it was enough in the moment to convince the Indian doctor that he had just witnessed a supernatural being come out of the lamp. The so-called priest somehow made a “jinn” or genie appear from the lamp, which Khan later realized was just one of the scammers wearing a costume. Wikimedia Commons The popular tale of Aladdin’s lamp is believed to have originated from somewhere in the Middle East. They started brainwashing me and asked me to meet this baba,” Khan wrote in his complaint. “Gradually they started telling me about a ‘baba’ whom they claimed also visited their home. In his police complaint, Khan alleged he had met the group of scammers while treating a woman he thought was their mother.
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The doctor fell prey to the scheme and shelled out tens of thousands of dollars to possess the supposedly-powerful lamp.Īccording to the Guardian, the victim, identified as a man named Laeek Khan in Uttar Pradesh, India, bought the fake Aladdin’s lamp from a gang of reputed con artists. Sometimes these con artists’ tricks are so elaborate that they can convince even the most rational person to step into their trap.Ī doctor hoping to harness mystical powers was duped into purchasing an old ‘Aladdin’s lamp’ that he was told was inhabited by an all-powerful genie. Scammers will come up with just about anything to swindle some money out of the pockets of the innocent.
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Uttar Pradesh police/AFP/Getty Images A doctor was scammed out of $93,000 by fraudsters who pretended to conjure a genie from a fake ‘Aladdin’s lamp.’