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Self-styled godman lands behind bars
Punjagutta police on Friday arrested a self-styled godman, who had been cheating gullible people.
​Hyderabad: Punjagutta police on Friday arrested a self-styled godman, who had been cheating gullible people.
Police recovered gold ornaments weighing 1.2 kg, Rs 4.2 lakh in cash, six mobile phones and a tab, all worth Rs 35 lakh from the accused Neduri Srinu aka Siddireddy Satyanarayana, a native of East Godavari district.
The accused is a homeless man ever since his family rejected him and frequents between pilgrimages looking for prospective victims. He offers counsel to fellow passengers while on way to pilgrim places and even pays their expenses to win their confidence, police said.
Once the fellow passengers start trusting him, the accused spreads his net. He convinces them that the troubles faced by the family would vanish if they follow his advice and perform certain pooja.
In some cases, he offers to perform special rituals which double the gold ornaments possessed by the family, while in some cases he offers to facilitate through his disciples in buying gold at very cheaper rates, police said.
Once the victims trust him, the self-styled godman offers them prasadam laced with sedative and decamps with gold, cash and other valuables.
He then spends the crime proceeds visiting pilgrim places looking for his next target. He admitted to have cheated and robbed people in as many as 11 cases, police said.
