The tricksters hail from Meerut, Ghaziabad, and Delhi

They are school dropouts but offer solutions even to well-qualified professionals on getting married, finding a job or securing visa to the US. Welcome to the organised gangs of ‘godmen’ or self-styled ‘saints’ from north India relieving devotees of lakhs of rupees in Hyderabad, with false promises of finding solutions to their sorrows. These tricksters hailing from Meerut, Ghaziabad and Delhi come to Hyderabad and simultaneously open ‘centres of consultation’ at different places.

They release ads claiming that they can solve anybody’s problem — be it finding a marriage alliance, landing a job or succeeding in obtaining visa to fly abroad. “While many ignore such ads, persons facing such problems for long would think of giving it a try,” an officer of Hyderabad Police Task Force presently on the lookout for one such gang said.

Some highly successful professionals reaching middle-age could not find life partners for various reasons. “In one case, an IT company top employee earning more than ₹ 2 lakh a month approached the ‘godman’ as he couldn't find a life partner,” the officer explained.

Playing on the psyche of the visitors, these well-prepared ‘babas’ impress them with their tricks. They will sit in the office with a huge box-type table in front of them. They will tie a cable to their toes and connect it to an empty bottle kept on the table.

After speaking to the visitor for a while, the ‘saint’ would convince the latter that a ghost was obstructing fulfilment of his or her wish and he would summon and seal the ghost in the bottle. “He will shake his toe. As the bottle moves since it is tied to his toe with a cable hidden in the table, the visitor starts believing the godman,” the investigators said.

Once the devotee is impressed, the self-styled baba will start demanding money to annihilate the ghost completely with mystic powers. “Some people may not believe but the IT company employee paid ₹30 lakh over a few months to one such godman,” the police said.