Uttarakhand: Man arrested for posing as sadhu, duping jeweler's wife
A conman masquerading as a sadhu was arrested in Uttarakhand's Rishikesh for allegedly duping a jeweler's wife of cash and jewelry worth around Rs. 1.75 crore, police said on Monday. Mahendra Rode alias Yogi Priyavrat Animesh was arrested from Cottage No. 21 of Nature Villa in Lal Tappar area late on Sunday night, Rishikesh DSP Dinesh Chandra Dhaundiyal said.
Conman recently got his book released by Uttarakhand CM
Gold and silver jewelry worth nearly Rs. 10 lakh was also recovered from his possession, the DSP said. The conman had recently got his book titled Manas Moti released by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, police said.
Case was registered after well-known jeweler's complaint
He is being interrogated after being taken on a 14-day judicial remand, it said. The arrest was made after a case was registered against him based on a complaint filed by a well-known jeweler of Rishikesh, Hitendra Panwar, who accused Animesh of duping his wife of cash and jewelry worth approximately Rs. 1.75 crore, the DSP said.
Jeweler's wife was mentally unstable, fell into impostor's trap: Complaint
According to the complaint, the jeweler's wife was mentally unstable and fell into the impostor's trap. The high-profile cheat was in the habit of getting himself photographed with influential people including politicians and posting the pictures on Facebook to flaunt his contacts. Moving around in the garb of a sadhu he used to look for soft targets and cheat them, police said.
Efforts underway to recover the looted cash and jewelry
Several cases are lodged against Animesh at Karnal in Haryana. He was sent to jail twice in the past in connection with different cases, the official said. Efforts are underway to recover the looted cash and jewelry from him, the DSP said.
