UP Police bust gang of ‘conmen’ from Punjab posing as holy men

The Uttar Pradesh police have busted a gang of “conmen” from Punjab by arresting three persons and detaining a minor from a railway station there. Two of them belonged to Malout town in Muktsar district and one belonged to Moga district. Additionally, a minor, who belonged to Faridkot district, has also been taken into custody.

The accused allegedly posed as holy men, chanted mantras, and robbed several people in Lucknow after hypnotising them.

Those arrested have been identified as 54-year-old Kundunath and 40-year-old Nailunath, both residents of Jivan Nagar in Malout, and 20-year-old Arjun of Moga.

According to a police officer quoted in a video posted on the Lucknow police’s official social media accounts, “These persons used to chant ‘mantras’ and perform tricks by placing rice and ‘rudraksha’ beads into the hands of victims. By doing this, they would hypnotise people and easily rob them. We had received information about their activities over the past few days. An FIR was registered by the Mahanagar police on Sunday. Three persons have been arrested and a juvenile has been taken into custody.”

He further claimed that the gang would flee to Punjab after committing the crimes. “A gold chain, several ‘rudraksha’ beads, rice, pearls, a ‘kamandal’, some glass ‘Shivlings’ and Rs 3,100 have been seized from them,” he added.

According to media reports from Lucknow, the gang typically operated from railway stations at night and targeted people during the day. They allegedly robbed a traffic constable on Sunday by making him inhale an intoxicating substance before snatching his gold chain.

Bathinda