 MUMBAI -Two men masquerading as eunuchs have been arrested after convincing Indian families to hand over money for ridding their homes of black magic, a report said Wednesday. The two men spent 15 days fleecing families in western Gujarat state before one of the victims complained to police that she had been hypnotised by the men, according to DNA newspaper.
The 40,000-strong eunuch community in Gujarat has been enraged by “fakes” who muscle in on their begging operations, ...
| ... 'muscle in' as it were ... |
...and a photo identity scheme has been started to try to regulate the business.
"May I see your ID?"
"Do you really have to?" |
“Two men dressed as eunuchs came to my home telling me in a high squeaky voice to perform puja (an act of Hindu worship) to banish black magic from my home,” alleged victim Bhupendra Pandya told the newspaper. “I did not want to believe them but they hypnotised me. I gave them 3,600 rupees (78 US). Before leaving they gave me a sweet drink and told me my house was free from black magic.”
| Bhupendra's not especially quick on the uptake ... |
Police have charged the two men, aged 30 and 40, with impersonation and cheating, the newspaper said.
| I say, if a man's willing to tell everyone he's an eunuch there shouldn't be any charges. |
IndiaÂ’s estimated one million eunuchs, once the guards for the harems of IndiaÂ’s Mughal emperors, are now more likely to be shunned.
| The Mughals have been gone for a while. Why do they still have eunuchs? |
They regularly muscle in barge into Indian weddings and blessings for new-born babies and leave only after collecting money. They are regularly seen begging at traffic junctions in major cities and depend on the sex trade to make a living.
| Needles are available in the lobby so you can gouge your eyeballs out ... |
|