Kendrapara: Luharmuhi village under Rajkanika police limits of Kendrapara district on Wednesday witnessed some bizarre scenes where a man claiming himself to be a black magic practitioner was asked to prove his skills.
According to sources, a pair of gold earrings was allegedly stolen from the house of one Kasim Uddin of the village. He later sought the help of a black magic practitioner to nab the thief.
As soon as the black magician reached the village, a youth of the village challenged him to prove his expertise by going through a test. The youth reportedly took the cellphone of another youth and announced that it was stolen and asked the black magician to identify the thief.
The magician performed rituals with a stick and chanted hymns. Eventually, he identified an elderly man as the thief instead of the actual person who had taken the cellphone, informed sources.
As the magician miserably failed to prove his magical power, he faced humiliation. He was also forced to return Rs 5,000 he had taken as advance from Kasim Uddin to trace the thief.
Though the incident has gone viral on the social media, it has raised concerns as to how people in Odisha still believe in such regressive practices.