Ahmedabad, June 08: As bizarre as it may sound, police officials in Ahmedabad now say that an illiterate woman, who can’t even spell her name properly, is the brain behind conman Ashok Jadeja’s multi-crore scam.
Jadeja’s aunt, Manbai Rathod, 60, who is a witch doctor or ‘bhuva’, is believed to be the mastermind of the investment scam threatening to cross the Rs 1,000-crore mark. Though illiterate, Rathod coined the now-famous slogan, ‘Jai Madi’ (Jai Ma), which has become synonymous with Jadeja. She was responsible for Jadeja’s demigod status.
Manbai was detained along with Manish, her son, on Thursday. During the three days of interrogation, police realised she was Jadeja’s main advisor. She would be with him at all his functions and took a share of the profits as well, CID officials investigating the case say. On Sunday Manbai was formally arrested. “She brought in the religious aspect and transformed Jadeja into a demigod,” says deputy superintendent of police, CID crime, RK Patel. Manbai claimed to be blessed by Sikotar Mata, a local deity in whose name the entire scam was run.
When Jadeja, an ayurveda practitioner, started the money chain in January, his scheme was more like multi-level marketing. Manbai advised Jadeja to inject a religious aspect into the scheme. She also spread the word that Sikotar Mata had blessed Jadeja and he would help the Chhara community by multiplying their riches. It was her idea to wrap Jadeja in a chunari, a symbol of Sikotar Mata. Jadeja also rewarded his aunt. Recently, she was gifted a Rs 13-lakh SUV, which has been seized by CID officials.
—Agencies–