THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While Kerala is yet to get over the shock of the Elanthoor double human sacrifice case, an incident came to light where a godwoman duped a family of 55 sovereigns of gold and Rs 1.5 lakh under the guise of black magic. The incident took place in Vellayani in Thiruvananthapuram.

The family of Vellayani native Vishwambharan was duped by a woman named Vidya aka Thettiyode Devi, who lives near the Kaliyakkavila bus stand. The incident took place in 2021. However, the family did not initially disclose it due to threats from the accused. Although the family lodged a complaint with the Nemom police four months ago, no case was registered. Vidya and her gang went into hiding after the family revealed the incident to a news channel.

Five members of the family, including Vishwambharan's son, had died in 2020. A friend from Neyyatinkara then took Vishwambharan and his daughter Vinithu to Vidya in January 2021 and claimed that the family was under a curse. Vidya and the gang of four reached Vishwambharan's home in Vellayani in January 2021 for the pooja. Vidya scared the family by saying that another unnatural death will soon take place in the family. Vishwabharan and his family, who were distressed by the untimely death of his son, believed Vidya's words. Following this, a room in the house was converted into a pooja area.

The pujas took place at night. Vishwambharan gave the gold and the money to Vidya after she said that the gold and money should be kept in the cupboard in the puja area and worshipped in order to please the goddess. The gold and money were then locked inside the cupboard. The godwoman told the family not to open the cupboard for 15 days. The family members did not dare to enter the room as Vidya said that the goddess and the two-headed serpent were invisibly present in the room. In between, the gang came and performed pujas for two days. However, the gang stopped coming after fifteen days. When he inquired, they said that the curse was not over and it would take three months. Later, the godwoman extended the time for lifting the curse to one year. Four months ago, the family got suspicious and when they opened the cupboard, they found that the gold and the money had been stolen. When Vishwambharan inquired about the matter at Vidya's house, the gang threatened to kill the entire family if they filed a case.

The family had initially lodged a complaint with the Memom police station. The then SI reached the spot and checked things. On the very next day, the SI called Vishwambharan to the police station and hectored him by saying that it was a false complaint. Vishwambharan also accused the SI of receiving a cover from Vidya's gang member. The family has lodged a complaint with the Chief Minister, City Police Commissioner and DGP.