TWO FAKE SADHUS HELD FOR CHEATING

SOURCE:- THE TIMES OF INDIA

NEW DELHI:- They posed as high priests blessed with the special power to double items made of gold. They arrived by night and disappeared by the morning after cheating hundreds of unsuspecting victims until the law caught up with them on Monday.

The Fatehpur Beri police has finally arrested two brothers who cheated scores of gullible people by claiming they could double their gold ornaments. The accused, identified as Suraj and Taranath, are residents of Faridabad and have been operating from various south Delhi bases for the past two years. A special team, led by ACP Rajinder Singh and SHO Anil Sharma, nabbed the accused on Monday night.

Police sources said the duo used to hypnotize their victims. "Their modus operandi was a time-tested one. The accused would first pose as a high priest well-versed in the Vedas. Once the victims were suitably impressed, they would cajole the victims to put a single piece of their valuable jewellery on a cloth they had brought with them. A few seconds later, they opened the cloth to reveal another piece of jewellery similar to the one the victim had handed over to them. After the victim was convinced about their "powers," the duo would hand over their entire collection of gold jewellery. The accused would then hypnotize the accused, fill the cloth with fake jewellery and flee with the bag containing the gold. We had received multiple complaints from the Sainik Farm and Jaunpur areas beginning in July last year. We laid a trap and finally nabbed the accused,'' said a senior investigating officer.

The police said the accused always kept changing their get up and hiding places. "They kept setting up new bases in the Mewat region. We have found that the accused had made a list of all the religious ceremonies taking place across NCR to choose their next target. We are now trying to arrest the jewellers who bought these stolen items,'' added the officer.

Sharma further asked Delhiites not to fall prey to such tricks. "We appeal to everyone to remain alert against such claims and immediately report any such case to the local police,'' said Sharma.