A 70-year-old woman from Maharashtra`s Thane district has allegedly been cheated of Rs 24.6 lakh by seven persons who invoked a godman`s name and conducted a fake `havan` to deceive her, police said on Monday, reported news agency PTI.

Based on the victim`s complaint, the police have registered a case against the seven persons, including some women, they said.

According to the victim, who lives alone in the Ulhasnagar area, one of the accused women befriended her and took Rs 10 lakh from her under the pretext of arranging a house for her, an official from Vitthalwadi police station said, reported PTI.

When the victim demanded her money back, the woman and the other accused invoked a godman`s name and told her that a `havan` (fire ritual) was necessary to “remove obstacles” before repayment, he said.

Believing them, the victim handed over her gold and diamond jewellery and cash to them for the ritual.

On November 11, during the ritual, the accused asked the victim to place the ornaments into a pot.

“They then offered her prasad which, according to the complaint, was laced with a narcotic substance. Once she became unconscious, the accused fled with around 20 grams of gold, diamonds and other valuables,” the official said, reported PTI.

The victim alleged that she faced losses of Rs 24.6 lakh in the fraud, he said.

The police have registered a case against the seven accused under sections 318(4) (cheating), 123 (causing hurt by means of poison), 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the official said.

Ex-manager of private company booked over misappropriation of Rs 63.8 lakh

In another case, the police in Maharashtra`s Thane district have registered a case against a former manager of a private company for allegedly misappropriating funds and assets worth Rs 63.8 lakh, an official said on Friday, reported PTI.

In his complaint to the Shil-Daighar police station, the owner of the company that deals in oxygen cylinders said the accused worked with them from July 2021 to August 2025, reported PTI.

“The complainant found major discrepancies in the company`s accounts during a recent audit. It emerged that the accused had been swindling money and misappropriating assets.”

According to the police, accused Purnachandra Panigrahi allegedly diverted Rs 35 lakh from the sale of gas cylinders, misappropriated 500 oxygen cylinders worth Rs 22.5 lakh and a few assets, collectively misappropriating Rs 63.8 lakh, reported PTI.

The accused has been booked for cheating under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the official said, adding that an investigation is in progress.

(With inputs from PTI)

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