Luck runs out for 'Tarot Baba'
He used to conduct magic shows on social media platforms and YouTube, claiming that he could catch a jinn (a supernatural spirit) with his bare hands.
Also, by showing various magic and “supernatural” tricks, he claimed that he could solve personal, familial and social problems.
For this, he used to appear on Facebook live saying that he could tell someone's fortune by reading “tarot cards”.
Meet the “Tarot Baba”, a former host of ABC Radio 89.2 FM, MM Jahangir Reza alias Radbi Reza.
He was arrested by a team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Police in the capital's Farmgate area on charge of “digital fraudulence” on Thursday.
“Radbi used to claim that he has spiritual power and could predict the results of a game in advance and help people win lotteries,” Molla Nazrul Islam, special superintendent of CID, told reporters at a press briefing at its headquarters in the capital.
“He also duped people and robbed them of their money in the name healing cancer and paralysis,” he added.
Radbi, who hailed from Sunamganj, studied in the UK, according to his Facebook account.
The police official said Radbi joined the radio station in October 2016 as a “paranormal researcher”. After his joining, the “Tarot Cards” segment was introduced in the programme named, “Daar” [fear].
In the particular segment, a listener had to give his or her name and cell phone number to participate. Later, Radbi used to retrieve the detailed information of the listener by searching their Facebook profiles.
In addition, upon meeting the listeners, Radbi used to astonish them by revealing information about themselves, which he gathered from their profiles.
As the programme became popular, his fan following also increased. His admirers used to consider him a person who has supernatural powers, Molla Nazrul said.
He also embezzled money from a woman, promising to solve her familial problems by giving her an amulet, the CID official said. “ABC Radio's former RJ [radio jockey] Kibria Sarkar was his ally in the financial dealings,” he claimed.
Radbi used to charge Tk 20,400 per two-hour consultation, claiming himself to be a “black magician”. He also runs a website and a consultation agency.
Radbi was arrested in a case filed under section-57 of the Information Communication Technology Act 2006 (amendment 2013), said the CID official.
Meanwhile, a Dhaka court granted a two-day remand for interrogation after police produced him before it.
Earlier, he was arrested with 20 stolen motorbikes on January 14, 2012, claimed police.
Contacted, ABC Radio's head of programmes Ehsanul Huq Tito told The Daily Star that Radbi used to join the programme as a guest and he was fired in September last year after allegation of swindling surfaced against him.
“When we came to know that they [Radbi and Kibria] were taking personal advantages from the show, the managerial body decided to fire them,” he added. “RJ Kibria was also forcibly ousted following the matter after three months.”
Regarding Kibria's involvement, Molla Nazrul Islam, special superintendent of CID, said, “We are also looking into the matter.”
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