The incident came to light when the doctor approached the police after he realised that the lamp did not have any magical powers.

According to a report by NDTV, Dr. Laeek Khan first met them when he began treating a woman they described as their ailing mother and started paying regular visits for her treatment.

In his complaint, the doctor said:

During one visit the genie 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 the genie.

Eventually, these men managed to convince the doctor into buying a chirag (lamp) for ₹1.5 crore. He could initially pay only ₹31 lakh as down payment.

The two men identified as Islamuddin and his friend Anees, were arrested on Sunday, 1st November and the police told media that the same men went to other homes in the city too and cheated many families in the name of ‘tantra vidya’.

Another suspect, a woman, is believed to be on the run.