Delhi triple deaths: Occultist ‘brainwashed’ clients, collected cash through ritual claims; police probe modus operandi

NEW DELHI: The occultist, Kamruddin—arrested for allegedly killing three people near Peeragarhi—had started influencing five others through ritual claims and collecting money from them, said police.

Investigators said chat logs and mobile records corroborated his attempts to "brainwash" them. "The individuals were residents of Jahangirpuri, Ghazipur and Loni, and had reportedly paid him money on the pretext of curing ailments or increasing their wealth," a source said, adding, "He allegedly collected amounts ranging from Rs 1,100 to Rs 10,000, claiming it was part of an initial healing process." He is suspected to be linked to at least eight murders, the source said. Sources said this was only the first stage of his operation and that he could have extracted larger sums or involved the victims in more dangerous acts had he not been arrested. Police found another mobile number believed to be used by the accused and are searching for the second handset. A keypad phone has already been recovered from him, they said. Investigators also took Kamruddin to Loni and Peeragarhi to recreate the sequence of events, as these were the routes used by the accused and the victims on the day of the killings.

"He was taken to the house where he ran his fake practices, then to the spot from where CCTV footage emerged and finally to Peeragarhi," a source said. A senior police officer said the accused initially ran a bangle business but later shifted to occult practices after seeing the possibility of earning more. "During interrogation, he said several people near his residence were already involved in such activities, which influenced him," the officer said.

Police are now examining the bank accounts of the accused and his children to trace the money trail. According to police, the occultist—arrested for allegedly poisoning and killing Randhir, 76; Shiv Naresh, 42; and Laxmi, 40—revealed a calculated modus operandi centred on ritualistic deception. The victims' bodies were found in an abandoned car, near the Peeragarhi flyover, on Feb 8. Police said he allegedly asked clients to send photographs of young women and girls as part of rituals and promised them a "dhanvarsha", or sudden windfall of wealth, claiming a "djinn" would establish "physical contact" through a young woman in their family. Multiple such photographs were recovered from a victim's phone, showing women posing with handwritten personal details. Investigators suspect these images were circulated across groups linked to the accused.