Thoothukudi district police have arrested a man and his son for defrauding many people to the tune of ₹2.29 crore claiming that a special puja would double the money.
Police said P. Lingaraj, 42, from Eral, was running a shop selling religious adornments in Eral Main Bazaar. In 2018, he was introduced to A. Balasubramanian, 63, from Ettayapuram, who claimed to be a spiritual person and told Lingaraj that he had established a temple at Pungavarnatham and had been performing special puja and doubling money for several people. Balasubramanian also introduced his wife Pandiyammal, 57, and son Ayyathurai, 27, to him.
Trusting Balasubramanian’s words, Lingaraj agreed to conduct a puja and gave a total of ₹38 lakh from 2018-2023 to him. Similarly, his friend Ananthkumar gave ₹29 lakh to him.
When Lingaraj tried to contact Balasubramanian and his family by phone, he found that the phone number had been disconnected. He traveled to Pungavarnatham, but was unable to trace them.
Upon realising he had been defrauded, Lingaraj filed a complaint at the district police station. Based on the complaint, SP Albert John launched an investigation and arrested Balasubramanian and his son Ayyathurai.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Balasubramanian and his family had also defrauded several other people from Sivaganga and Thoothukudi districts in the past. Further investigations are on.
Published – January 11, 2025 09:08 pm IST