Nagpur: An 81-year-old woman was allegedly cheated of gold jewellery and a mobile phone collectively worth ₹3.05 lakh by two unidentified conmen who posed as spiritually gifted individuals and exploited her faith near a temple in Nagpur’s Imamwada area.

Based on the victim’s complaint, Imamwada Police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for cheating and have launched a search for the accused.

According to police, the complainant, Sujata Mohanlal Agrawal (81), a resident of Tata Capital Tower-2 near Medical Square, had gone to a temple at Untkhana Maidan for prayers on the morning of July 8. After offering prayers, she was walking towards her daughter’s house when the incident occurred.

Police said the first accused, described as a man around 30 years old wearing a cream-coloured shirt, approached her and claimed, “You are facing a grave crisis. Maa Jagdamba is upset with you.”

Soon afterwards, a second man, around 35 years old, wearing a blue checked shirt and blue jeans, joined them. The first accused then told the second man, “Your mother is ill.” The second accused pretended to be surprised and replied, “How do you know? My mother is actually sick.”

Investigators said this staged conversation convinced the elderly woman that the first man possessed divine powers.

The first accused then allegedly warned the victim that her son was facing a serious danger and claimed the crisis could be averted only if she handed over her gold ornaments for a religious ritual.

Believing the claim, the woman placed her valuables into a bag containing puja materials and handed it to the second accused. The stolen property included:

• A 10-gram gold Tulsi necklace worth about ₹60,000
• Four gold bangles weighing 40 grams worth about ₹2.40 lakh
• A mobile phone worth ₹5,000

The total value of the stolen property is estimated at ₹3.05 lakh.

Before leaving, the first accused instructed the woman to walk 51 steps straight ahead without looking back. By the time she turned around, both men had fled with the bag.

Police have registered an offence and are examining CCTV footage from the surrounding area to identify and trace the accused. Investigators suspect the duo deliberately acted in coordination, using a scripted conversation and false spiritual claims to gain the victim’s confidence before carrying out the fraud.