Bengaluru: A 62-year-old woman from Girinagar was allegedly cheated of gold ornaments worth around ₹40 lakh by a man posing as an astrologer, who reportedly collected her jewellery over nearly a year on the pretext of performing a special pooja for the wellbeing of her family.

The Byatarayanapura police have launched a search for the accused, identified as Venkatesh. According to the complaint filed by the woman, SC Shanthamma, the accused allegedly gained her confidence by offering solutions to problems concerning her health and family before persuading her to hand over her gold ornaments for a religious ritual.

Woman first met accused near Victoria Hospital

According to the complaint, Shanthamma had been visiting Victoria Hospital for treatment of a chronic ailment. Around a year ago, she reportedly met Venkatesh on the footpath outside the hospital.

Venkatesh allegedly offered her solutions to her problems. After Shanthamma’s health condition improved, she returned to the hospital premises looking for him, hoping to seek his help for her son, who she wanted to help quit drinking and smoking, and for her daughter, who she wanted to get married.

However, she could not meet him that day. She reportedly left her mobile phone number with an autorickshaw driver near the hospital and asked him to pass it on to Venkatesh.

Accused allegedly promised to solve family problems

About a week later, Venkatesh allegedly contacted Shanthamma over the phone. She subsequently invited him to her residence to discuss the problems concerning her children.

During the visit, he allegedly gave her a lemon and assured her that her problems would be resolved soon.

A week later, he reportedly returned to the house and told Shanthamma that a special pooja dedicated to Goddess Chowdeshwari had to be performed for the wellbeing of her son and daughter.

According to the complaint, Venkatesh then told her that her gold ornaments were required to conduct the pooja. Believing his claims, Shanthamma allegedly began handing over her jewellery to him.

More than 329 grams of gold allegedly collected

Over the course of the alleged fraud, Shanthamma reportedly handed over more than 329 grams of gold ornaments to Venkatesh.

The jewellery included gold chains, bangles, earrings and rings. The total value of the ornaments was estimated at around ₹40 lakh.

The accused allegedly visited Shanthamma’s house on every amavasya and pournami for nearly a year and collected jewellery from her, claiming it was needed for the special pooja.

The complaint states that Shanthamma trusted him and continued to provide the ornaments over this period.

Fake accident video allegedly sent to woman

The alleged fraud came to light after Shanthamma asked Venkatesh to return her jewellery.

On August 19, she reportedly contacted him and asked for the ornaments back as she needed them for Varalakshmi pooja.

That night, a video was allegedly sent to her from Venkatesh’s mobile phone. The video purportedly showed him with injuries.

Soon after, a man claiming to be Venkatesh’s friend reportedly called Shanthamma and told her that the accused had suffered serious head injuries in a road accident and had little chance of survival.

The development raised doubts when Shanthamma’s daughter examined the video and reportedly told her that it appeared to be fake. Shanthamma then tried calling Venkatesh, but his phone was switched off.

Police register case

Following the incident, Shanthamma approached the police and lodged a complaint.

The Byatarayanapura police registered a case on September 7 and have launched a search for Venkatesh.

The police investigation is expected to establish the circumstances in which the jewellery was collected and trace the accused. The allegations remain subject to the investigation and any subsequent legal proceedings.

The case highlights how fraudsters can allegedly build trust over an extended period before seeking valuables from victims under the guise of religious rituals or promised solutions to personal problems.