Man cheated out of salary by swindlers

Spiritual healer asked him for money so he could perform a ‘dum’.

RAHIM YAR KHAN:

Police suspect a team of two men are behind swindling a baildar (groundsmen) out of his salary.

Abdul Khaliq, a baildar at Government Khawaja Fareed College, registered on Friday evening an FIR with the Division B police station, saying that his salary of Rs16,000 was taken away fraudulently by a man, posing as a spiritual healer and his mureed (follower).

Khaliq said he had been on his way home after collecting his salary from the Gulberg branch of the Bank of Punjab when a stranger stopped and asked him if he knew the way to Baba Hanif’s home. He replied in the negative, following which the man asked if he could walk with him, to which Khaliq said he had no objection. After they had walked for a couple of minutes, the man stopped and pointed to a white car parked on the side of a road and said, “Look. There is Baba Hanif.”

Khaliq told police that he went with the stranger to say hello to the spiritual healer who greeted them and then asked them to offer prayers regularly.



He then blessed them and asked them to stand to the side so he could perform a dum on his follower that would help him control his diabetes.

After Hanif had done the dum, he asked his mureed to give him some money so he could recite some verses for his prosperity. The man handed him the money that he had. Hanif recited some verses under his breath, blew air on the cash and handed it back to the man. Hanif then asked Khaliq to give him whatever money he had so he could do the same for him. Khaliq handed over his entire salary to Hanif who put the money in a handkerchief and tied a knot. He then recited some verses, blew air on the handkerchief, handed it back to him and left after blessing him.

The stranger also said goodbye and went his way.

Khaliq said that when he reached home, he opened the handkerchief to put the money in the cupboard, only to find that there was no money in there, just plain paper.

Police suspect the stranger who asked him about Baba Hanif was an accomplice.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2012.