HYDERABAD: The Nalgonda police on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, arrested Ambadipudi Sai Vishwa Chaithanya alias Vishwa Chaitanya Swamy, a self-proclaimed baba who had been cheating people under the guise of possessing divine powers. His three associates, Gajula Goutham, Vangaru Srujan Kumar and Orsu Vijay, were also arrested.
Over Rs 26 lakh in cash, gold ornaments weighing 500 grams, documents related to fixed deposits, 17 acres of land, electronic gadgets, and other materials has been seized from their possession, said Nalgonda SP AV Ranganath.
Through his YouTube videos, Sai Vishwa Chaithanya came into contact with many people and started collecting huge amounts from them. Women belonging to financially rich families were his main targets. Inquiries also revealed that he had affairs with some of them.
Saying that God appeared to him in a vision and gave out their names, he collected money from his followers. Further, he started making money through yantras, moolikas, churnas, etc, by saying that they would free people from evil powers and bring them good fortune. Recently, he started giving online appointments to his followers. As police started receiving complaints from people, they registered a case and arrested him.
ARRESTED IN 2002 FOR DUPING PEOPLE OF Rs 1 CRORE
Sai Vishwa Chaithanya was earlier accused of duping people to the tune of Rs 1 crore at Nampally in 2002, and was arrested. After coming out on bail, he proclaimed himself as a great devotee of God and appeared in several regional television channels.