22 June,2011 06:23 AM IST | | Kaumudi Gurjar
Sent into trance, elderly man loses valuables to suave conman posing as customer
A second case of a conman casting a hypnotic spell on his victims to steal valuables has been reported this month. If the culprit is the same as the one who tricked an elderly woman into handing over gold earlier this month, then the conman seems to be an expert in the art of hypnotism as he has now repeated his game on an elderly man. MiD DAY had reported on the first hypnotism incident on June 9. In the latest case, a nutrition expert was targeted by a suave-looking man on Monday morning.
Master of the game: Theu00a0 conman asks intended victims to remove
their gold jewellery, wrap them in a currency note and keep them safely
in a drawer. Only after they come out of the trance, do victims realise
that the jewellery has gone missing.u00a0 Imaging/MiD DAY
"He looked like a wealthy man in his late thirties. As he entered my Health and Nutrition Centre, I thought he wanted to get rid of the bulge around his tummy. He insisted that I should give him the supplementary diet right away, but I said he should undergo check-ups first. Then he said he wanted to open a jewellery shop in the same area and asked me for good wishes for his new venture," said Mukund Joshi (64), the complainant.
The conman, dressed in a white shirt and beige trousers, handed over a Rs 1,000 note to Joshi and informed him that his parents would collect the supplementary diet from him.
"The conman asked me to bring gold jewellery into contact with the currency note. He held my hand and easily removed my gold ring, which I had not removed for the past seven years," said Joshi. "He was also able to take out my gold chain in a moment, while it would have taken me at least five minutes to do the same. He wrapped the gold jewellery in the note, tied it with a rubber band and asked me to keep it back in the drawer. After a few minutes, I checked the drawer and found my gold ring and chain missing."
Joshi, who is unable to comprehend how he could let the conman remove gold jewellery from him, said he had a feeling that the man had cast a hypnotic spell on him. Upon realising his gold was missing, Joshi chased the man, but he was too fast for the elderly nutrition expert. Joshi saw the conman jump on to a bike that stood at a distance and vanish.
Joshi registered a complaint with the Sahakarnagar police station. PSI A D Paygude is investigating the case.
"The complainant did not approve the sketch prepared by the police. We are checking the criminals on record, but we are yet to get a breakthrough in the case," said Paygude.
Past case
A similar case was registered at the Deccan police station on June 8. A woman running a bakery on Karve Road was tricked into removing her jewellery by a conman who visited her shop and said he wanted to buy a cake. The woman, Suvarna Teranikar (62), said she was hypnotised by the man.
Hand of crime syndicate unlikely: Police
DCP (Crime) Rajesh Bansode said the police had taken note of these incidents and were investigating.
"Both incidents may or may not be connected, but we do not feel that it is the job of an organised syndicate."
