NEW DELHI: Two men have been arrested in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh for allegedly duping a doctor into buying an ‘Aladdin’s lamp’ for $93,000, which they promised would bring him wealth and health.
According to details, the arrested accused, as part of the con, even pretended to conjure up spirits from the lamp, in line with the tale from The Arabian Nights.
Later, the doctor, identified as Laeek Khan, approached police after he realized the lamp did not have any magical powers, as described in the popular folk tale. The men had reportedly wanted more than $200,000 for the lamp but settled for $93,000.
A police spokesperson informed that the men were arrested on Thursday and were remanded in custody ahead of charges being filed. “The wife of one of these men was also involved in the fraud. She is on the run,” he added.
In the complaint, he said that one of the men pretended to be an occultist and made a jinn appear from the lamp. However, when asked if he could touch the genie or take the lamp home, they refused.
Eventually, they sold the lamp to him, promising it would bring health, wealth, and good fortune. Khan stated that he later realized the genie was actually just one of the men in disguise.
The police spokesperson further said that the same men were suspected of cheating other families in similar ways.
