A very unique fraud has come to light from the Amethi district of Uttar Pradesh, which saw the inexplicable return of a man who vanished without a trace 22 years ago at the age of 11 years. The man named Arun Singh alias Pintu (some reports say Pinku) returned as an ‘ascetic’ seeking alms from his mother. However, later it was found that it was an elaborate plan to defraud the boy’s family, and someone else pretended to be Arun Singh. It was an imposter named Nafees.
Arun Singh, son of Kharauli village resident Ratipal Singh had ‘disappeared’ from his home when he was 11 years old in 2002 after an argument with his parents. 3-4 days ago, the incident of the boy returning to his village after 22 years was widely reported by the media. The video of the tearful reunion of ‘Arun’ with his family was widely shared on social media. The man dressed as an ascetic is seen playing the sarangi, a three-stringed traditional musical instrument, and singing melancholy tunes while begging alms from his ‘mother’.
#अमेठी:मां की भिक्षा के बिना जोगी जीवन अधूरा,20 साल पहले गायब युवक अपने घर भिक्षा मांगने पहुंचा,मां और बुआ ने पहचाना,बच्चे को पहचानकर रोने लगा परिवार,जोगी जीवन छोड़ने को तैयार नहीं बेटा,मां और बुआ के रोने पर बेटे ने सुनाया राजा भरथरी का गीत,वीडियो अमेठी का बताया ज रहा #amethi pic.twitter.com/JAyoIaZPXC
— AMETHI LIVE (@AmethiliveCom) February 5, 2024
Ratipal Singh’s 11-year-old son, Arun Singh aka Pinku, disappeared from their Delhi home in 2002 after a fight with his father over marbles. His mother, Bhanumati, had punished him, and in a fit of wrath, Pinku embarked on a voyage that separated him from his family.
Then a man appeared in Amethi’s Kharauli village on 27th January to begin the rituals required to become a sanyasi, claiming to be the boy who left his family 22 years ago. The villagers then informed his parents about the matter, who still live in Delhi. When the parents heard the news, they promptly arrived at the village. Notably, they ‘recognised’ Pinku from a scar on his body.
The emotional reunion, however, was brief. The man said that he must leave the village after taking alms from the woman, saying that he must return to his math. ‘Arun Singh’ explained that his visit was not motivated by familial ties, but by religious ritual. According to him, in their tradition, aspiring monks must go through a ceremony in which they accept alms from their mothers.
He said that he took education at the Parasnath Mathg in Jharkhand, and his guru said that after visiting Ayodhya, he should go to his native village and seek alms from his family members. His initiation will be completed only after this step, the Guru allegedly told him.
The family wanted him to stay with them and leave the saint’s life. ‘Arun’ first refused, but then called his monastery and said that if he wanted to end ties with the monastery, he would have to pay Rs 11 lakh to them. He said that he will have to feed 3000 saints and gift them items like clothes. The expense for each saint was approximately Rs 350, therefore a total of Rs 11 lakh was needed, he claimed.
However, this was a too steep price for the family. Pinku’s father said, “I do not have Rs 11 in my pocket, how can I pay Rs 11 lakh?” expressing his financial constraints. But the family was then able to negotiate the amount down to Rs 3 lakh 60 thousand. The family then sold 14 biswa land to arrange the money.
On February 1, Ratipal Singh’s family and villagers reportedly donated 13 quintals of food grains to the man as alms, so that he could return to his math to finalise the process of leaving the institution. Ratipal also bought a mobile phone for him to stay in touch during this period. The material was loaded onto a pickup truck and sent to Ayodhya. According to family members, Faujdar Singh’s nephew from Bani village also went with ‘Arun’.
In the meanwhile, some villagers were expressing doubt about the claim that a saint needs to pay an amount like Rs 11 lakh to leave a monastery. While it is true that some monasteries ask disciples to visit their houses as part of the initiation ritual, the villagers never heard of the requirement of feeding 3000 saints to leave sainthood.
Therefore, on Friday, Ratipal Sing and several other villagers reached the address given by the truck driver in Ayodhya, and that is when they realised that they were victims of an elaborate scam. When they reached the site, they were shocked to find that there was nothing there, there was no trace of ‘Arun’.
Then the entire matter came to light, and it turned out that the man claiming to be Arun Singh alias Pintu was a professional imposter named Nafees, a resident of Tikariya village in Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh. It also turned out that there is no Parasnath Math in Jharkhand.
The Jagaran report says that several families in Takariya village are notorious for such fraudulent activities. Many people from the village have ended up in jail after they were caught defrauding people by pretending to be Sadhus. In its investigation, Jagran found that the fraudster is married to a woman named Poonam and has a son named Ayan.
Reportedly, Nafees had visited the village earlier and learned about the missing boy Arun after talking to the villagers. After that, he plotted the plan and arrived at the village on 22 January. He told the villagers that he is originally from the village, and he was sheltered by the Math after he fled the village 22 years ago.
Nafees’s relatives also involved in defrauding people by posing to be “missing-son-turned-Yogi”
Nafees has four brothers. One of his brothers Rashid is also allegedly involved in similar fraudulent activities. The report says that Rashid posing as an ascetic, visited the village Sahaspura Parsodha in Chunar police station region of Mirzapur on July 29, 2021. Ravi alias Annu, the son of local resident Budhiram Vishwakarma, disappeared 14 years ago. Rashid much like Nafees did in the case of Ratipal Singh, went to Annu’s mother pretending to be her lost son and asked her to give him alms as a part of sanyas tradition to make his journey successful. The family grew emotional and allowed Rashid to stay in their home. However, after a few days passed, Rashid vanished with lakhs of rupees. The police later arrested him and exposed his fraud.
Notably, Nafees’ father-in-law, Mukesh, has a Hindu-sounding name but is Muslim, according to the Jagran report. Mukesh’s brother also defrauded a family in Varanasi while posing as a Yogi. On July 14, 2021, Mukesh’s brother arrived at the house of Kallu Rajbhar, a resident of Hajipur village of Cholapur police station area of Varanasi pretending to be his missing son Sunil. Pretending to be a sanyasi, Mukesh then asked for alms from Kallu’s wife, calling her his mother as a tradition signifying a Yogi’s transition into the monastic life. Later, the sadhu, Sunil, was identified as Mukesh’s brother from Tikariya village in Gonda.
Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police Dr. Ilamaran G. stated that SHO Jais has been instructed to remain vigilant in this case. The police are in constant contact with the family and the police are looking into the matter. The administration has advised people to be careful while dealing with such unknown people visiting as sadhus.
