Fake spiritual healer arrested with huge money, hemp

11 November 2009, 17:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Patuakhali

Rapid Action Battalion arrests fake spiritual healer Fakir Badsha and his 10 accomplices and seized huge amount of money from his abode at Barun Baria village in Patuakhali Sadar upazila Tuesday.Photo: STAR

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested a fake spiritual healer along with 10 accomplices from his abode at Barun Baria village under Patuakhali Sadar upazila on Tuesday noon. Rab also seized huge currency notes and ganja from there. The arrestees are 'spiritual healer' Fakir Badsha, 38, and his accomplices Shamim, 20, Abul, 24, Ayub Ali, 18, Masum, 30, Selim, 35, Hanif, 22, Sohel Rana, 26, Sabuj, 28, Rahim, 26, and Helal -- all hailing from Barun Baria village. A team of Rab-8 led by DAD Akram busted the abode about 20 km south of Patuakhali town. After setting up the centre at his house in February this year, Badsha started taking money from locals by giving them 'water with healing power, said Rab and locals. Thousands of people of different ages came to Badsha to take treatment and he earned huge amount of money from them, said locals. Four people including three children died as a trawler, carrying over 70 people who were returning home after taking water from Badsha, capsized in the river last week, said local union parishad Chairman Bashir Uddin. During a visit to the area on Tuesday noon, this correspondent saw that over a hundred shops were set up in the road in front of Badsha's house as a large number of people gathered there daily.