Woman arrested for performing black magic in Chikkaballapura courtroom

The Chikkaballapura Town police arrested a 65-year-old woman on July 11 for allegedly performing a "black magic" ritual inside the courtroom of the First Additional Senior Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate First Class in Chikkaballapura. The accused, identified as Manjula, allegedly scattered white mustard seeds on the judge's chair and dais on July 9 in an attempt to influence a pending civil case.

According to the police, the incident occurred at around 9:40 am inside the open courtroom before the daily proceedings commenced. Manjula, who is a resident of Valasanna Beedi in Chikkaballapura, allegedly entered the empty courtroom and scattered the white mustard seeds as part of the ritual.

The scattered seeds were later noticed by the court staff, who alerted the court administration. This prompted authorities to examine the CCTV footage recorded inside the courtroom. The footage allegedly captured Manjula entering the premises and scattering the seeds over the judge's seat and the dais.

Following the review of the footage, Netra, the Chief Administrative Officer of the court, filed a formal complaint with the Chikkaballapura Town police. This complaint initiated the police investigation that led to Manjula's arrest.

During their investigation, police officers discovered that a civil dispute involving Manjula’s family is currently pending in the very same court. Investigators revealed that Manjula's brother, Venkatarama, is the third respondent in the ongoing civil suit. Police stated that she performed the ritual in the belief that it would alter the final outcome of the legal dispute in her family’s favour.

Following her arrest, Manjula was produced before the jurisdictional court and has been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody. The Chikkaballapura Town police have registered a case against her under the Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act, 2017.