A team from Basistha Police Station apprehended a self-styled tantrik, accused of cheating a woman in Sankardev Nagar by staging a fake ritual and fleeing with her gold ornaments.
The incident occurred on February 11 when the accused allegedly performed a fraudulent puja at the woman’s residence, claiming it was for religious purposes, and stole her jewellery. Acting on technical surveillance inputs, police quickly tracked down and arrested the main suspect, identified as Faruk Ojha.
Items Recovered
During the operation, police seized:
A Royal Enfield Classic 350 motorcycle
A Nike backpack containing fabricated certificates
Three mobile phones
The clothes reportedly worn by Ojha during the offence
Arrest of Jewellery Receiver
Further investigation led authorities to a jewellery receiver, Santosh Kumar Prasad of Kheroni, who was subsequently arrested. From his possession, police recovered:
Melted gold, believed to include the complainant’s ornaments
Other gold jewellery items
Cash amounting to Rs57,420
An iPhone 15
All seized items have been retained for the ongoing investigation, as police work to determine the full extent of the scam.
