Dr. Beckley, the infamous occultist who shock the whole of Ghana.

Ghana was gripped by a shocking and disturbing story involving Dr. Sri Ram Yogi Beckley, a medical practitioner and an occultist who was famously referred to as Dr. Berkley. He lived behind high walls that concealed his activities from prying eyes. He earned a notorious reputation during the 80'sand 90's as there were allegations of him kidnapping young school children and women for sacrificial rituals.

These allegations sent shockwaves through the whole of Ghana at the time, making almost everyone scared by the mention of this name. The police searched and discovered macabre secret within Dr. Beckley’s residence in Gbawe, a suburb of Accra. During the search, school uniforms and human skulls of alleged kidnapped victims were found. These suggested that the discovered gruesome artifacts had been used in rituals.

Following this discovery, an enraged mob descended upon Dr. Beckley’s home, setting it ablaze and leaving him and his family homeless. Finally, Dr. Berkley was arrested and detained by the police. According to him, the police merely watched as the enraged mob looted his house and set it on fire. In 2002, Dr Berkley was once again in the news. This caused a massive uproar in the whole of Ghana once again.

The facts as presented were that on April 12 2002, Beckley was said to have lured a girl to his house under the pretext of buying some vegetables she was selling. In the house, he tied the girl to a tree overnight without water and food, until her stepfather was informed and he raised the alarm. Two days after that, the Police arrested Dr Berkley for abducting two teenage girls, one aged 13, to his residence at New Gbawe on Friday evening.

The girls, said to be selling, were allegedly contacted by Dr Berkley who offered to buy all of their wares if they would follow him to his residence in his car. The children allegedly joined Dr Berkley to his residence. He was said to have tied one of the girls to a tree in the house and then dragged the other into a room in the house. Police said on Saturday, the 13-year old girl, whose name was not disclosed, heard the noise of a passer-by and shouted for help.

The passer-by, who was an old man, entered the house and approached the girl. After seeing the girl's plight, he untied her from the tree and she gave the old man 1,000 old Ghana cedis. The police said the girl then left for home and narrated their ordeal to her parents. The parents then reported the matter to the police, who later went to Beckley's house and arrested him. A police search at his residence, however, failed to produce the other girl, who was dragged into one of the rooms of the house.

Police mounted a 24-hour guard at Dr Beckley's residence to prevent angry youth in the area from attacking and setting the house on fire but they eventually did. However, one of his homes in Accra has undergone a transformation and now serves as a place of worship for a church and a prayer camp. This dark chapter in Ghana’s history remains etched in the memories of those who witnessed it.

Now my question is, how old were you by then ? You can also share your personal experience with me in the comment section.