Man duped of Rs 1.2 crore in the name of 'tantrik puja'

Nishwit Shetty's house covered in fake currency notes that he claimed fell in a money rain

The idea of being drenched in showers of money left a real estate agent high and dry, when he lost over R1.2 crore for this. One of the conmen who cheated him in the name of 'paison ki baarish,' has been arrested, while the police is looking for his two aides. He has cheated more than 70 people of Rs 40 crore in past five years. He was nabbed in Bandra by the Crime Branch after a tip-off on Monday.

Venu Pillai, a real estate agent, met the accused, Nishwit Kumar Shetty, 36, a resident of Mira Road, in 2018. Pillai lodged a complaint after the arrest. Shetty told him he could become rich in just three months by performing a tantrik puja. Akbar Pathan, DCP Detection said, "The accused asked him to invest R10 lakh for the tantrik puja and money would rain on him."

Shetty claimed the puja would be performed by a Guruji from MP. "Pillai was also shown a forged letter of the Reserve Bank of India that stated R6,000-crore would soon be credited to his account," said Mahesh Desai, senior PI Unit 9. Desai said Shetty also showed Pillai his Mira Road flat where the walls were covered in (fake) currency notes. He claimed the 'money shower' happened after the puja, and he now had crores of rupees. Following this, the complainant invested R1.12 crore after selling his flat, his wife's jewellery and used his savings for the shower of money.

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