BENGALURU: Central Crime Branch (CCB) police arrested four people in connection with a cheating case registered in Ramamurthy Nagar, in which a widow was conned of Rs 27 crore. The main accused, Nagaraj, had cheated the woman under the pretext of being possessed by godly spirits, the police said. The complainant, Geetha (48), a resident of NRI Layout in Ramamurthy Nagar, had filed a complaint on February 20, saying that her husband had passed away in 2009, following which some family issues were troubling her. In 2014, she came in contact with Nagaraj through a friend. Nagaraj claimed that he was a priest in a temple and was under the influence of godly spirits, and could offer solutions through these spirits.
“The woman trusted him and he came up with various stories to scare the family that they could face trouble from evil forces, and that she and her three children would die if they were not addressed. He often performed pujas at her house, and told her to sell off her properties. He would tell her that she wouldn’t be rid of the curses if she used the money derived from selling her properties, and promised her that he would invest the money on her behalf and return it when she was completely relieved of the evil forces. Believing this, the woman sold off several properties registered in her and her sons’ names, between 2016 and 2019. He also made the woman give him Rs 5 crore in cash and over 3kg of gold,” police said.
“As he kept doing this, the woman lost all her properties and valuables. When the family confronted him, he allegedly threatened to get them all killed by performing black magic. Only then did the woman approach the police. All the properties sold were the ancestral property of the woman’s husband, who was a farmer,” the official added.
Based on her complaint, police registered a case under the provisions of the Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill. The case was transferred to the CCB for further investigation.“On Thursday, we raided the houses of accused and arrested Devaraj, Sai Krishna, Perumal and Manju, in whose name some of the properties were registered. They are relatives of Nagaraj, who is absconding along with his wife. We have seized certain documents from the accused and are on the lookout for Nagaraj and his wife,” the official said.