HYDERABAD: A widow in Hyderabad was allegedly duped of cash, gold ornaments and property documents by a fake godman who threatened her with dire consequences, claiming her house and family were cursed. The incident came to light when the woman’s daughter intervened and recovered the house documents. The case has been registered at the Kachiguda Police Station.
According to police, the victim, Geetha Vaidya, resides in Tilak Nagar, Hyderabad. Her husband was a lecturer at Vasishta Junior College in Dilsukhnagar and passed away a year ago. Following his death, Geetha Vaidya was appointed in his place as a lecturer at the same college.
It was during this time that the college principal, Soumya, introduced Geetha to a man named Shivaswamy, claiming he could remove negative energies and perform rituals to ward off evil. Believing her, Geetha confided her personal troubles to Shivaswamy.
Exploiting her vulnerability, the fake godman allegedly frightened her by claiming that her house was cursed and that she and her family would meet the same fate as her late husband. He insisted that elaborate rituals were needed to remove the curse.
He initially took ₹1.70 lakh from her and took her to Srikalahasti to perform rituals. When no “relief” was observed, he told her that another round of rituals must be conducted at the Kanaka Durga Temple in Dilsukhnagar. For this, he took 26 tolas (approximately 300 grams) of gold from her.
Later, he claimed that a priest who performed the rituals had died due to the strong “curse” and that his family was now demanding compensation. Using this fabricated story, he allegedly forced Geetha to hand over the documents of her house.
The fraud came to light when Geetha’s daughter discovered what had happened. She took her mother to Shivaswamy’s house in LB Nagar and confronted him. Rejecting his claims about rituals and curses, they argued with him and managed to retrieve the house documents. However, when asked to return the cash and gold, he refused.
Following this, Geetha lodged a formal complaint at the Kachiguda Police Station. A case has been registered and investigation is underway. According to the police, the incidents took place between March 17 and April 3.
