BENGALURU: A 62-year-old woman was allegedly cheated of her gold ornaments worth around Rs 40 lakh by a fake astrologer on the pretext of performing a special pooja for Goddess Chowdeshwari for the well being of her family members.
Byatarayanapura police have launched a search for Venkatesh, the accused.
According to a complaint filed by SC Shanthamma, a resident of Girinagar, she used to visit Victoria Hospital for a chronic ailment. Around a year ago, she met Venkatesh on the footpath outside the hospital, who offered her some solutions.
After her health condition improved, Shanthamma went to the hospital premises looking for Venkatesh to seek his help for her son to quit drinking and smoking habits, and also his help for her daughter to get married. However, she could not meet Venkatesh that day. She left her mobile phone number with an autorickshaw driver near the hospital, asking him to give it to Venkatesh.
A week later, Venkatesh allegedly called her. She invited him to her house to discuss her children’s problems. During the visit, he gave her a lemon, assuring that her problems will be solved soon. A week later, he allegedly returned and told her that a special pooja for Goddess Chowdeshwari has to be performed for the well-being of her son and daughter. He also told her that he needs her gold ornaments to perform the pooja.
Believing Venkatesh, Shanthamma gradually gave him over 329 grams of gold ornaments, including chains, bangles, earrings and rings. For nearly a year, he allegedly visited her house on every ‘amavasya’ and ‘pournami’ and collected the ornaments.
On August 19, Shanthamma called Venkatesh and asked him to return her ornaments for Varalakshmi pooja. That night, a video was sent to her from his mobile phone, allegedly showing him with some injuries. A man claiming to be Venkatesh’s friend then called her and informed that Venkatesh suffered serious head injuries in a road accident and his chances of survival were low.
Shanthamma’s daughter, who checked the video, told her that it appeared to be fake. When Shanthamma tried calling Venkatesh, his phone was switched off. She later approached the police, who registered a case on September 7.
