Bhubaneswar, Feb. 8: A cop by profession, 36-year-old Anoop Kumar aims to cleanse the society of all kinds of evil by using his magic wand.

In an attempt to save people from falling victims to tantriks and their tricks, Kumar himself learnt the tricks of the trade. His stint with magic began in 2011 when he was posted in a remote district in the western parts of the Odisha. He came to know about a tantrik, who used to fool people performing various tricks.

"He was showing simple tricks to earn the trust of the people. He made blood ooze out of a lemon or made the coconut catch fire. The tantrik was also earning money this way. The innocent people, who hardly had any idea about the science behind the tricks, started believing whatever the tantrik told them. I witnessed the same in a number of other places and it disturbed me," said Kumar. That is when he decided to learn the tricks of the trade to enlighten people about the science behind magic. Thereafter, he travelled to Calcutta to learn magic from magician P.K. Sarkar.

"As we know that there are no schools of magic so the best way to learn is through apprenticeship. Therefore, I took training from him for a few months. I also met a few magicians in Odisha who also honed my skills," said the magicians hailing from Rayagada district.

"During my posting in various rural areas such as Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri among others, I performed tricks in front of the rural people and also demonstrated the science behind them so that they understand the difference between illusion and reality," said the magician.

Kumar joined the police services when he was 19 and admitted that his seniors had been his biggest support. "They encouraged me a lot and helped me juggle my job and passion," said an elated Kumar, who is presently rendering his services at the office of Rayagada police chief.

Recently, he performed at the IPS Officers' Conference held in Cuttack. That apart, he has also performed in places such as Hyderabad, Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram.

His performances include cutting a lady, water of India trick, making tea on head and floating in the air.

Now, that he has a decent earning, he wants to travel more. "I earn enough to sustain my family. All I want to do now is travel across the country and enlighten as many people as possible," said the magician.