Pune: A fraudster who tricked a woman into believing that her house was under the influence of black magic and stole jewelry worth ₹3.5 lakh has been arrested by the police. A case has been registered at Hadapsar police station.
A 44-year-old woman lodged a complaint at Hadapsar police station regarding the incident. Based on her complaint, the police arrested the accused, Neelkanth Suryavanshi (35), a resident of Kanherasar, Khed Taluka, currently residing in Alephata, Junnar Taluka.
According to police information, the complainant’s husband was addicted to alcohol. Two years ago, she and her husband had visited a temple in Kanherasar, Khed Taluka, for the goddess’ blessings. At that time, they met the accused, Neelkanth Suryavanshi.
Suryavanshi advised the complainant’s husband to quit drinking, and following his advice, the husband gave up alcohol. This built the complainant’s trust in Suryavanshi, and she continued to stay in touch with him, sharing her family problems. They frequently communicated over the phone, and he would guide her on personal matters.
On March 25, Suryavanshi contacted the complainant and warned her about a looming disaster over her house. He assured her that he would help and arranged to meet her on March 27 in the Gadital area of Hadapsar. He instructed her to bring her mangalsutra (wedding necklace) and her daughter’s gold chain, claiming that he would perform a ritual on them to remove the negative influence.
On March 27, around 1:30 PM, the complainant met Suryavanshi in Gadital, where they drank sugarcane juice at a local shop. Suryavanshi then handed her a lemon and asked her to place her mangalsutra, gold necklace, and gold chain in a plastic bag for a ritual. He told her to walk ahead and, upon his signal, throw the lemon away.
As the woman walked ahead following his instructions, Suryavanshi fled with the bag of jewelry. When she turned around, she realized that he had disappeared with the valuables. The woman immediately approached Hadapsar police station and filed a complaint.
Arrest and Police Investigation
Under the guidance of Senior Police Inspector Sanjay Mogle, Police Sub-Inspector Hasan Mulani and his team tracked down and arrested Suryavanshi. The stolen jewelry was recovered from him. Police are investigating whether he has committed similar crimes in the past.
Suryavanshi was presented before the court, which ordered him to be held in police custody.
