Mapusa: Mandrem police booked a Maharashtra native for allegedly cheating a 65-year-old man and his family of a gold ‘mangalsutra’ worth Rs 3 lakh under the guise of performing religious rituals to cure his daughter’s illness. The accused, identified as Santosh Malkar, a resident of Mangaon, Maharashtra said police.According to the complaint filed by Vithal Arolkar, a resident of Kiranpani-Palyem, the incident occurred on Feb 20. Malkar allegedly approached the family and convinced them that a ritual was necessary to treat the complainant’s daughter. During the ceremony, the accused instructed the daughter to place her 40g gold mangalsutra inside a steel tin as part of the ritual.Police said the accused used sleight of hand to remove the gold ornament from the container. To ensure his escape, Malkar strictly warned the family members not to open the sealed tin for 21 days.The fraud came to light when the family grew suspicious and checked the container, only to find the valuables missing. Police filed an FIR under Section 318(4) of BNS.
