Two men arrested for selling 'Aladdin's Lamp' to UP doctor for ₹31 lakh

In a bizarre incident, LA Khan, a doctor from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut, was allegedly cheated of ₹31 lakh by two men who sold him an “Aladdin’ s Lamp” — a magical artefact from the popular Middle Eastern folk tale.

The conmen even managed to summon a “genie” from the lamp to convince their victim, according to the doctor.

The doctor filed a complaint with the local police on October 25, describing in detail how he was swindled by the two men — Ikramuddin and Anees. The accused have been arrested.

According to the doctor, he first met the conmen when he began treating a woman, Sameena, who they described as their “ailing mother”.

The doctor met the patient in 2018. Later, he started frequenting her house to treat her. He said he had met a tantrik at her house who’d even promised to make him a billionaire.

“I started visiting their home to treat the supposed mother. The visits continued for over a month. Gradually, they started telling me about a baba (godman) whom they claimed also visited their home. They started brainwashing me and asked me to meet this baba,” Dr Khan wrote in his complaint.

The conmen told the doctor they would sell him a chirag (lamp) for ₹1.5 crore. “But I could only offer ₹31 lakh as down payment,” the doctor said.

“They told me the lamp would bring wealth, health, and good fortune. They said this is ‘Aladdin ka chirag‘ (Aladdin’s lamp),” Dr Khan added. “During one visit “Aladdin” actually made an appearance in front of me. I did not know who this person was at that time. I later realised (one of) the accused was dressing up as ‘Aladdin’,” the doctor said.

Whenever the doctor asked for the lamp to be taken to his house, the conmen refused saying “bad things” would happen if he touched it.

Later, the doctor realised that the “genie” was none other than Ikramuddin, the husband of Sameena.

The police has seized a golden-coloured lamp (or chirag), a stone (used to rub on the lamp), and ₹20,000 in cash from the possession of Ikramuddin and Anees.

The men have cheated many families in the name of ‘tantra vidya’. “We have found the involvement of three people so far. Two have been arrested. A woman is on the run,” Amit Rai, a senior Meerut police official, said.