Mira-Bhayandar: The Bhayandar police are on the look out for a tantrik or a self-proclaimed godman who duped a 64-year-old farmer of his entire life savings totaling around Rs12 lakh. Apart from facing a financial crisis, the farmer (name withheld), who lives in Rai village, was also worried as his wife was suffering from several health issues since the past several years.
The distressed man came to know about the suspect, Vinay Acharya from Nallasopara, as he shared his woes with his friends. The complainant met Acharya who promised to rid the former of all his problems, with the help of supernatural powers. He assured the farmer that he would perform a special ritual which will bring money rain.
For a shower of Rs40 crore, Acharya demanded Rs5 lakh to buy some rare ingredients while asking to keep Rs3 lakh in a box, and place it at a specified location in the house. However, the con had already surreptitiously removed the money and warned the farmer not to touch the box for the next 21 days. In similar manner, Acharya took around Rs12.25 lakh later and started to give evasive replies when the farmer queried him about the money rain.
The fraud came to fore when the complainant checked the box and found that there was no money in it. “The accused who seems to be a habitual offender is absconding,” said Bhayandar police station Senior Inspector Mukutrao Patil.
