ASHOK JADEJA

Ashok Jadeja (born on 1 June 1974), popularly known as Ashok Maadi and Mataji Ashok, is a self-proclaimed 'Godman', who has been accused of swindling money from thousands of people from across India by claiming to have the divine blessings of a goddess of a local caste in Ahmedabad. METHOD: Jadeja would sit outside the Shikoter Mataji temple in Ahmedabad and tell people that if they kept their money with him, the goddess would make them wealthy.Reports initially suggested he accumulated more than twenty crore in three states with the help of approximately thirty-five accomplices. This amount changed to thousands of crores which was given to accomplices and used to purchase gold and real estate investments in Gujarat and neighboring areas. ARRESTED AND AFTERMATH: He was arrested on May 31, 2009 with his wife Neeta and Rs.1.98 crore. On June 3, 2009, ten relatives were apprehended by police from the Kunwara village in the Patan district of North Gujarat for their alleged involvement with his scheme. On June 10, 2009, a local court in Gujarat granted the criminal investigation department permission to conduct a narco test on Jadeja. Police officials from neighboring Rajasthan, Maharashtra and other parts of the country came to Gujarat to interrogate him and his associates. On July 24, 2009, Jadeja admitted that he had no godly or mystical powers. In addition, he also revealed that some policemen and bootleggers had also benefitted from his "money-multiplying scheme".