A bizarre religious ruse left a 50-year-old Bhandup woman without gold jewellery worth Rs 45,000. Police say the incident points to a specific gang using this modus operandi to target unsuspecting victims.

Baiting the victim

According to Bhandup police, Anjana Sukumar Goldar was returning home from the market around 1.30 pm on August 27 when she was approached by a man wearing a white shirt near Sushma Beauty Parlour on Tembipada Road, Narayan Nagar. The man initially asked her about a doctor’s camp. When Goldar told him she did not know about it, he stopped her again and began telling her that she was fortunate and had the blessings of goddess Mahalakshmi.