28 December,2017 12:30 PM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah Khan
Here's yet another example of how self-proclaimed babas and hakims will use any lame excuse to con people into parting with their money
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Here's yet another example of how self-proclaimed babas and hakims will use any lame excuse to con people into parting with their money. The Borivli police have arrested one such hakim, identified as Zakir Hussain Shaikh, 52, who claimed he could heal anyone with a limp by merely drawing out the 'dirty blood' in their system.
This kind of blood detox is an alternative form of treatment known as hijama (wet cupping). One of Shaikh's patients was a 62-year-old resident of Borivli West, who was out on his morning walk in September. One of Shaikh's accomplices approached him on noticing that he was limping.
The accomplice claimed that his wife too had the same problem, but a hakim had managed to heal her completely. The senior citizen called Shaikh to his house a few days later. The hakim performed fake hijama by adding impurities to the blood. After bleeding the man from several points, Shaikh charged him R52,000 for the 'treatment'. A few days later, the elderly man realised that he had been duped and complained to the Borivli police.
Meanwhile, the cops received a complaint from another victim who had been cheated out of Rs 45,000 for his father's treatment. The police decided to pose as patients to catch Shaikh red-handed. They called him to a flat for treatment, where they arrested him.
"The modus operandi of the gang is to target people who have trouble walking. Other members of the gang would look for targets, while Shaikh would perform the hijama. Now that he has been arrested, we are on the lookout for his accomplices," said an officer from Borivli police station.
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