Bengaluru: A bizarre case of alleged cheating and theft under the guise of religious rituals has been reported from Bengaluru, where a woman and her associate are accused of decamping with gold jewellery worth several lakhs after convincing a family that a special puja was necessary to avert a life-threatening danger.
The Whitefield Police have registered an FIR against Naveeda Banu and Parvez based on a complaint filed by Moin Pasha, a resident of Ambedkar Nagar, and launched an investigation into the incident.
According to the complaint, Moin Pasha, a software professional working in a private company, had helped Naveeda Banu get admitted to a hospital on May 23 following a request from a friend. During their interaction, Naveeda allegedly noticed Moin’s brother and claimed that he was facing a serious life threat.
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She reportedly warned the family that unless special rituals were performed immediately, Moin’s brother could die within ten days. Alarmed by the prediction, the family agreed to conduct the puja as instructed by the accused woman.
Moin stated that all materials required for the ritual were arranged and the accused were invited to his residence on May 25. The puja allegedly continued from around 1 a.m. until dawn.
During the ritual, the accused reportedly instructed the family to bring all gold ornaments kept in the house. Around 35 grams of gold jewellery was wrapped in a cloth, placed inside an iron box and tied into a bundle. The family was allegedly told not to open the bundle for 90 days if they wanted the ritual to be effective.
After completing the ceremony, the accused left the house in the early hours of the morning. Moin said the family had spent nearly ₹30,000 on the ritual itself.
The alleged fraud came to light a few days later when Naveeda Banu reportedly contacted Moin seeking a loan of ₹60,000. When he refused, she allegedly became angry, raising suspicion in his mind.
On checking the iron box, Moin discovered that the gold ornaments had disappeared and only the tied cloth bundle remained. When confronted, the accused allegedly promised to return the jewellery but failed to do so.
Following the complaint, Whitefield Police registered a case against both accused and initiated efforts to trace them. Investigators are examining whether the duo may have targeted other families using similar superstitious claims and ritual-based deception.
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