Pernem: Mandrem police on Tuesday arrested two men from Banda, Maharashtra, for allegedly posing as godmen and duping a Pernem woman out of her gold ornaments worth Rs 8.5 lakh on the pretext of performing rituals for peace and prosperity.
The accused have confessed to the crime and police have recovered the stolen gold ornaments.
The accused are identified as Vijay Bhimrao Shinde (31) and Dada Gorakh Ingole (43), both residents of Solapur in Maharashtra.
Police have registered an offence under Sections 318(2) and 316(2) read with Section 3(5) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
According to police, Amita Naik, a resident of Parsem, had lodged a complaint that on February 11, three men, claiming to be godmen, visited her residence in the morning and induced her to hand over her gold ornaments by stating that they would perform rituals for attaining wealth and harmony. The complaint further states that the trio fled with the jewellery, cheating the complainant.
“Investigation is in progress to find out if the accused are involved in any other offences with a similar modus operandi in Goa,” a police official said.
