Thane man cheated by 5 persons posing as sadhus; FIR lodged

Thane: A 37-year-old man in Maharashtra's Thane district has allegedly been cheated by five persons who posed as "sadhus" and offered to help him get rid of his problems, police said on Wednesday.

One of the accused met the victim, resident of Rajnoli in Bhiwandi, some days back at a shop in the area and asked him if he was in trouble.

The accused offered to help the victim and asked him to come on August 2 to a temple in Temghar where some other persons, all posing as seers, were waiting, an official from Shanti Nagar police station said.

The accused asked the man to perform a puja. While keeping him busy with the rituals, they allegedly stole his gold ring valued at Rs 50,000 and also took another Rs 20,000 from him for the rituals, he said.

The next day, the accused called up the victim again and asked him to pay Rs 75,000 for additional rituals and assured him of well-being.

The victim then realised he was cheated and approached the police.

Based on his complaint, the police on Monday registered an FIR against a 25-year-old man hailing from Gujarat and four unidentified persons under relevant provisions, the official said.