The CEN police in Haveri have arrested Ramesh Shatri and Gopal Shatri, residents of Devaragudi village in Sindhanur taluk, Raichur district, for allegedly swindling a 23-year-old pharmacist by impersonating astrologers. A third suspect, a minor, was also apprehended, while another accused, Guru Shatri, remains at large.
Police recovered 227 grams of gold, valued at Rs21 lakh, from the arrested individuals, confirmed CPI SR Ganachari of CEN police.
The victim, a BPharma graduate employed at a private hospital in Haveri, fell prey to a sophisticated cyber fraud after seeing an advertisement for the Astrotalk mobile application on Instagram, which offered astrological consultations. She contacted the suspects through the app and communicated via text messages. After making an online payment, the fraudsters sent her a ‘yantra’, kumkuma, and other ritual items.
Later, the primary suspect claimed the victim would face serious difficulties due to issues in her kundali and persuaded her to perform a special puja at their ashrama in Mysuru. He instructed her to hand over all her gold ornaments for the ceremony, which his associates then collected from Haveri.
Police are continuing investigations to trace the remaining accused and have urged the public to be cautious of online astrology and spiritual frauds.
