THOOTHUKUDI: A 42-year-old man, who claimed to be a priest, has been sentenced to three years imprisonment for allegedly cheating 6.5 sovereign gold jewellery from a devotee on the pretext of performing 'Parihara Poojai' to remove her past lives' sins.
The convict was identified as A Muthuramalingam of Kovilpatti. "He approached T Ulaganda Eswari (42) of N Pudur in Naraikinaru police limit on April 14, 2021, to perform Parihara poojai. While conducting the ceremony, Muthuramalingam put 6.5 sovereigns of gold ornaments belonging to Eswari in a vessel tightly covered by cloth and instructed her not to open it until the culmination of Parihara days. He replaced the jewellery with some stones. Eswari realised she was cheated when she opened the vessel after a few days," said sources.
Based on a complaint, Naraikinaru police registered a case against Muthuramalingam and arrested him for cheating. The inspector submitted a charge sheet against the accused on October 13, 2021. When the case came up for hearing in the Ottapidaram Judicial Magistrate court on Friday, magistrate Jeyanthi sentenced the accused to three years and imposed a penalty of Rs 10,000.