In a case of fraud in Bengaluru, Batarayanapura Police have arrested Venkatesh for cheating a 62-year-old woman of gold jewellery worth around ₹40 lakh because he sold her on the concept of astrology and religious rituals. He had taken around 300 grams of gold ornaments from the old woman over the course of nearly one year and even said that performing special prayers would bring good change to her family.
After she asked for the return of her jewellery, he made up a road accident story and sent her an artificial intelligence (AI) video of himself in a hospital, injured. He then switched off his mobile phone and fled to Andhra Pradesh. Police arrested the accused and recovered 200 grams of gold jewellery out of the 300 grams taken from the victim.
Shanthamma had frequently visited the Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru for health problems. One time she came across Venkatesh, who introduced himself as an astrologer. When she asked him about her worsening health problems, he said that her condition would be better in a few days.
Shanthamma had been feeling better, and she trusted him then. She had more confidence in the astrologer, and later asked him to advise about her son’s alleged alcohol addiction and the marriage problems of her daughter. But when she tried to meet him again, she could not find him. Before leaving, she reportedly shared her mobile number with an autorickshaw driver, which eventually helped Venkatesh get her contact.
After he got Shanthamma's phone number, Venkatesh contacted her and asked her to visit his house in Batarayanapura. In the meeting, he gave her a lemon and said that doing a special Chowdeshwari puja would solve her family's problems. He told her that performing religious rituals on the gold ornaments kept in her house would bring good fortune and good results.
After receiving his promises, Shanthamma agreed to hand over her jewellery for the proposed rituals. Venkatesh then started going to her house on every new moon day, or Amavasya, and took the ornaments under cover of performing the puja. This deal was reported to have continued for about a year, and he got around 300 grams in gold jewellery with a value of about ₹40 lakh. Police are investigating the transactions and the supposed fraud.
The alleged fraud came to light when Shanthamma called him on August 19 seeking the return of her jewellery for the Varamahalakshmi festival. Venkatesh had been forced to give up the ornaments during the car accident to the temple's owners and not return them to her. He sent her an AI-generated video which made it seem that he had suffered severe injuries and had no chance of surviving.
The video made it appear as if he was in a critical condition, so he couldn't get back the jewellery, said Shanthamma. He then switched off his phone, and Shanthamma could not contact him at all. The timing of the incident, at the same time that she was going to ask for the jewellery before the festival, put her in more danger. The allegations of using AI footage added to the picture of synthetic media being used to deceive innocent people.
Shanthamma was worried about the video and the sudden loss of contact and told her daughter about what happened. Her daughter looked at the video and found that it was made up by AI and was not genuine evidence of an accident. That raised fears about Venkatesh's claims, and the family began to suspect Shanthamma might have been cheated.
So the family went to the police and filed a complaint about the gold ornaments, the religious rituals and the suspicious accident video. In Batarayanapura, police began investigating the accused and recovering the jewellery. The case is an example of how worrying videos and claims need to be verified when they are used to explain sudden emergencies or to prevent the victims from seeking their valuables.
With the investigation completed, Batarayanapura police arrested Venkatesh in connection with the alleged fraud. Police recovered 200 grams of gold jewellery from about 300 grams reported from Shanthamma’s jewellery. The recovered ornaments are only a small percentage of the jewellery in the complaint, but the gold and the details of the alleged fraud are in need of investigation.
The investigation will establish the full story, including how the jewellery was handled and the circumstances of the accused's move to Andhra Pradesh. It's also a warning to not give away valuable belongings to people who promise solutions to health, family or personal problems by performing rituals. Residents are advised to verify the claims of the owner, keep hold of their jewellery, and report any suspicious activity to the police immediately.
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