CHENNAI: A fake priest was arrested on Sunday for swindling four-sovereign jewellery and Rs 1,000 in cash from a family on the pretext of conducting a special pooja in their house at Neelankarai.
Police said the accused, whose original name is Joseph, had posed as a priest in a temple at Tiruvannamalai and approached the family of Chandrapal Pandian, a bank staff. “The complainant’s son died five years ago and the family went to the temple a few months ago to perform the annual ritual. Learning that the family was depressed, Joseph promised to conduct a special pooja in their house to ward off bad omen,” said a police officer.
On July 21, Joseph and his associate Udayakumar - both disguised as Hindu priests - reached Chandrapal’s house and performed a pooja and asked the family to keep gold and cash as offering to god during the pooja. “As the pooja was over and everyone was busy, Joseph stole the four-sovereign chain and `1,000 in cash and left the house,” said the officer.
With the help of a CCTV footage, police on Sunday night arrested Joseph.