Invisible godman scam: Couple arrested for duping Bhubaneswar businessman

In yet another case of fraud by a fake godman, a businessman was allegedly duped to the tune of lakhs of rupees by a couple in Bhubaneswar. The accused couple has been identified as Sparshakant Sahu and his wife Rini. Sparshakant was arrested on September 21 and his wife was arrested yesterday.

It is alleged that Rini had developed intimacy with the family of the businessman who runs a large mart in the city. Somehow she managed to get access to the CCTV camera links installed at the businessman’s residence and store. Sources said after analyzing the activities of the businessman at his residence and store, Rini used to make him speak with a ‘baba’ from the Himalayas.

The baba then used to predict what happened at the house or the shop of the businessman in the past few days or hours. By this the businessman had started trusting the instructions given by the baba. It is not clear whether the baba with whom the businessman used to talk over the phone was Rini’s husband or some other person. It is alleged that the couple had duped the businessman to the tune of Rs 8 lakh through such fraudulent means.

“The victim runs a grocery mart where the accused woman had developed some intimacy with its owner. Later, she introduced her husband to the businessman at his shop. Gradually the couple took over the business by introducing the businessman to a baba over the phone. After gaining access to the CCTVs, the baba made several predictions after tracking his movements and the activities of his family,” said ACP SN Muduli.

Muduli further said that whether the baba was Rini’s husband or someone else it is being ascertained and further investigation is underway.