Thiruvananthapuram: A big rip-off, perpetrated in the guise of conducting black magic, has been reported from Vellayani here.

The complaint is that a godwoman of Kayikkavila and her associates duped a family of 55 sovereigns of gold and Rs. 1.5 lakh after arriving at the house to conduct a puja for freeing the family of a supposed curse.

They took possession of the gold and the money by claiming that these had to be kept securely in the puja room for the ritual to have the intended effect. The complaint also said that the accused threatened to kill all the members of the family in a sacrifice when they demanded the valuables back.

Depressed by the deaths in the family, Viswambharan of Kodiyil house in Velayani and his children sought help from a godwoman in Kayikkavila who claims to be Thettiyode Devi. Godwoman Vidya and a four-member group reached the house at Vellayani in early 2021. Vidya frightened the family by warning that there would be an unnatural death in the family soon.  The housewife, who was grieving her brother's sudden demise, believed this.

Following this, a room in the house was turned into a puja area. The group's next move was aimed at prepping the room and cupboard suited for the robbery. The pujas were conducted in the dark. Vidya directed that in order to appease the goddess, the puja should be conducted after the gold and the money were kept locked in the cupboard.  The members of the family were told that the goddess and an invisible twin-headed serpent would be in the room. The complaint also said that they were told not to open the cupboard for 15 days.

However, the godwoman did not return to open the cupboard on the sixteenth day. When asked, the godwoman stated that the curse was not lifted and that it would take another three months. Later, the time for lifting of the curse was extended to one year. At last, when the family members, out of despair, opened the cupboard, there was no gold or cash inside.

When Vidya was contacted, she threatened to kill the entire family, the complaint said. The family has been approaching police stations one after the other to recover the lost valuables. Meanwhile, the group of crooks, along with the godwoman, is on the hunt for new victims.