Pune: Conman Arrested for Duping Woman with ‘Cursed House’ Scam, Stealing Rs 3.5 Lakh in Jewelry
Pune, 29th March 2025: In a shocking incident, a conman who convinced a woman that her house was cursed and stole jewelry worth ₹3.5 lakh has been arrested by Hadapsar police.
The suspect, Neelkanth Suryavanshi (35), originally from Kanhearsar in Khed Taluka and currently residing in Alephata, Junnar Taluka, was taken into custody following a complaint by a 44-year-old woman.
According to the police, the victim’s husband was an alcoholic. Two years ago, she took him to a temple in Kanhearsar, hoping for divine intervention. There, they met Suryavanshi, who advised her husband to quit drinking. When her husband successfully overcame his addiction, she began to trust Suryavanshi and continued consulting him on personal and family matters. They remained in touch through phone conversations.
On March 25, Suryavanshi contacted the woman, claiming her home was cursed and that he needed to meet her in person. On March 27, he asked her to meet him near Hadapsar Bus Stand and instructed her to bring a gold mangalsutra and her daughter’s gold chain, promising to enchant them for protection.
When they met at a juice center around 1:30 PM, Suryavanshi gave her a lemon and asked her to place the jewelry inside a plastic bag. Pretending to perform a ritual, he kept the bag with him and instructed her to walk forward, holding the lemon, and discard it when he told her to.
Moments later, when she turned around, she realized he had vanished with her jewelry. She immediately reported the incident to Hadapsar Police Station. A team led by Senior Police Inspector Sanjay Mogle and Sub-Inspector Hasan Mulani tracked down and arrested Suryavanshi, recovering the stolen jewelry. Authorities are now investigating whether he has committed similar frauds before.
Suryavanshi was presented before the court, which remanded him to police custody for further investigation.
