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UNMASKED: Siddalingaraju</td></tr></tbody></table>A fake priest decamped with valuables worth Rs 2 lakh assuring to perform pooja for the well being of Shivakumar (36) from Kanakpura residing in the Kumaraswamy Layout limits. The incident came to light when after eight months Shivakumar opened the covered box kept at the feet of the deity and found pebbles and handful of dirt in place of gold valuables. Siddalingaraju (36), the fake priest is actually a fisherman and is wanted in many similar cases throughout the southern part of the state. He hails from Mandya district but became a priest to con people. He used to convince people by showing them a Kali mata statue that he claimed to have found buried under soil.u00a0 He proclaimed to people that one day devi mata came in his dreams and told him that She will fulfill all the requests of those who worshipped Her statue regularly for eight months. Those who wanted to become rich easily, believed him and lost around Rs 50 lakh, but remained quiet out of society's fear. Initially, he fooled villagers and made some money. When he was confident that people would believe in this trend, he thought that he would get more money if he tried his tricks in the city limits. He came to the city as a priest and would tell people, "I am a priest of Ramanathmole of Mavalli Taluk temple. I will conduct pooja for well being of humankind." Finally, Kumaraswamy Police managed to get hold ofu00a0 Siddalingaraju in Shivakumar's case. Shivakumar who is a businessman believed Siddalingaraju and brought him to his house for doing a pooja. Siddalingaraju started the pooja of Kali Mata's statue and told Shivakumar and his wife to deposit their ornaments at the feet of Goddess. He put fragrance smoke (Sambrani powder) and replaced all the ornaments with pebbles. He then packed the box with cloth and said, "You should worship the statue for eight months and then you will get what you want." He then decamped with the valuables. After eight months' time when Shivakumar and his wife opened the box, they were surprised on their fate. They even got Siddalingaraju's address to find him, but some of the villagers informed them that he was a magician and might kill them. The couple then lodged a complaint with the police. Kumaraswamy Layout police then started to investigate the matter. They managed to nab Siddalingaraju and sent him to jail for further investigations. Kumaraswamy Layout Police station inspector Babu Narona said, "Greedy people will be made fools easily. First of all they should leave this type of mentality of making money easily, only then such frauds will come down automatically."

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A fake priest decamped with valuables worth Rs 2 lakh assuring to perform pooja for the well being of Shivakumar (36) from Kanakpura residing in the Kumaraswamy Layout limits

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