Two held for defrauding woman on pretext of occult rituals to resolve household issues

Indore: Dewas Civil Lines police arrested two men from Rajasthan for allegedly defrauding a local resident on the pretext of performing occult rituals to resolve household problems. The incident occurred on Aug 30, 2026, when a woman, Geeta Prajapat, a resident of Trilok Nagar, reported that the accused initially took Rs 2,100 from her for a ritual. Later, they collected her gold jewellery, placed it inside a red cloth bundle, and asked her to collect it the following day at Mishrilal Nagar. Upon opening the bundle at home, Prajapat found the jewellery missing and the suspects' location locked. A case was registered under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating. Following directives from Dewas superintendent of police Punit Gehlot, a special police team led by Civil Lines inspector Vijay Singh Lodhi analysed footage from over 200 CCTV cameras and deployed technical intelligence. The investigation led the team across a 3,000-kilometre search route through Ahmedabad in Gujarat to Pali and Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The police arrested Pradeep Joshi (36) and Vinod Kumar Joshi (42), both residents of Pipar City in Jodhpur district. Based on their disclosures, officials recovered the complete stolen items, including gold tops, earrings, mangalsutra pendants, 18 beads, and three mobile phones, worth Rs 3 lakh from a residence in Pali, Rajasthan. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Indore | Silver Rate in Indore | Bank Holidays in Indore | Public Holidays in Indore | Petrol Price in Indore | Diesel Price in Indore | CNG Price in Indore | LPG Price in Indore Stay updated with the latest Indore news. Download the TOI App.