A self-styled god-woman was booked while her accomplice was arrested for duping their disciples of more than ₹1 crore in north-east district’s Khajuri Khas on Monday.
Around 30 women disciples lodged a complaint at Khajuri Khas police station on Sunday evening against Pushpa Goel alias guru ma who duped them on the pretext of arranging money for her daughter’s marriage, the police said.
“After an initial investigation, most of the complaints were found to be genuine. An FIR under IPC Sections 420 [cheating] and 406 [criminal breach of trust] was registered at Khajuri Khas police station,” said DCP (North-East) Atul Kumar Thakur, adding, “We have formed teams to nab her.”
The complainant said she met guru ma at a temple in her locality. After a few meetings, she discussed her marital problems with the accused who then asked her to perform various rituals. “I met her around three years back and then I became her disciple. She used to arrange religious tours and events for all her disciples,” said Mona Singh, a victim. Pushpa was active in the area for past four years and was staying at a rented accommodation in Dayalpur, the police said.
“We have arrested one Devendra, who was known to be guru ma’s husband. However, during the investigation, it was revealed that he used to manage her donations and was not her husband,” said Mr. Thakur. Complainants alleged that a few months back Pushpa had approached them claiming that she was in dire need of money for her daughter’s marriage. She had promised to return the money within two months, the police said.
‘Mortgaging gold’
“I gave her ₹18 lakh by taking loan against the house. She had promised to return the money by April 21 but she never did so. Then I went to meet Devendra but he threatened me and asked not to file any complaint,” said Suman, another victim.
Most of them had arranged the money by mortgaging gold and other valuables items, the police said. “They have been cheated of ₹5 to ₹20 lakh each. We are expecting more people to file complaints. Pushpa does not have any daughter,” said an officer. The police have got significant leads in the case of the god-woman’s hide outs.