Pramesh S Jain
The Rajajinagar police have arrested a“highly deceptive” conman who specifically targeted temple priests and their families under the pretext of religious rituals, duping them of gold and silver ornaments worth lakhs.
The accused has been identified as Praveen Bhat,who operated in a unique manner—avoiding conventional house thefts or chain-snatching,and instead gaining the trust of victims through calculated social engineering.
Senior officer said the accused would frequently visit well-known temples in various localities and pose as a wealthy businessman.
He would build rapport with priests by regularly offering prayers and making generous donations running into thousands of rupees.After earning their confidence,he would execute his fraud.
In one such modus operandi,Praveen Bhat would inform the priests that he was inaugurating a new shop and required priests to conduct special rituals.
He would then insist that married women (muthaidheyaru),including the priests’wives or female family members,be sent for the ceremony.
During this the accused deliberately targeted women wearing gold ornaments.In a recent case in Rajajinagar, he picked up a priest’s wife in an autorickshaw under the pretext of taking her to the puja venue.
During the journey,he convinced her to remove her jewellery,claiming it was unsafe to wear ornaments while travelling.
Assuring her that the valuables would be returned later, he collected them and later fled midway,abandoning the victim in a busy market area.
Following a complaint filed by the victim’s family,the Rajajinagar police launched an investigation and apprehended the accused.
Preliminary inquiry has revealed that Praveen Bhat used a similar method to cheat priests in at least five different areas across the city, including Hebbal,Ramamurthy Nagar,City Market,Rajajinagar,and CK Achukattu police station limits.
Police have recovered stolen valuables worth approximately Rs.15 lakh from the accused,including 116 grams of gold and 409 grams of silver.
Further investigation is underway to ascertain the full extent of his activities and identify additional victims, police added.
