Fake godman, son cheat several people of Rs 2.29 crore near Ettayapuram in Thoothukudi, held
THOOTHUKUDI: A fake godman and his son were arrested for cheating people of Rs 2.29 crore after promising to perform special poojas to double the money, at his temple in Pungavarnatham near Ettayapuram.
According to police, A Balasubramanian (63) and his son B Ayyathurai (27) lured one P Lingaraj (42), who runs a temple decoration shop in Eral main bazaar, to double his money by performing a special pooja. Trusting Balasubramanian’s claims, Lingaraj gave over Rs 38 lakh between 2018 and 2023. Following Lingaraj’s footsteps, his friend Anandakumar also gave Rs 29 lakh to Balasubramanian.
When they failed to get back the doubled sum, Lingaraj and Anandakumar searched for Balasubramanian, but the latter had fled.
Based on a complaint by Lingaraj with Thoothukudi SP Albert John, District Crime Branch DSP Raju launched an investigation, which revealed that Balasubramanian and his son cheated over Rs 2.29 crore from many people in the southern districts.
The crime branch sleuths arrested Balasubramanian and Ayyathurai and imprisoned them. Sources said that efforts are being made to recover the money.