Man arrested for cheating senior citizens on pretext of taking them for Mahakumbh Mela
Bengaluru, Mar 10 (PTI): A 35-year-old man was arrested for allegedly cheating senior citizens on the pretext of taking them to Prayagraj for the Mahakumbh Mela, police said on Monday.
Police suspect that Raghavendra Rao, who was a former journalist, had swindled more than Rs 70 lakh.
The accused allegedly lost the money he earned through cheating senior citizens in online betting, police said, adding he has installed three betting apps on his phone.
The matter came to light after those duped approached Govindarajanagar police station with complaints against Rao, police said.
At least 21 such complaints were registered against him at the same police station, they added.
According to the police, the accused, who recently ventured into tourism business, put up posts on Facebook where he lured people with attractive seven days trip to pilgrimage trips covering places like Ayodhya, Varanasi and Prayagraj.
When he started out, as promised, he took some of them to the trip and also posted pictures of it on his social media account. Later, several senior citizens approached him for the same, a senior police officer said.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that Rao used to charge Rs 49,000 for seven days trip. After collecting required amount for the package, he booked air tickets for his customers and sent it to them, he said.
However, later, he cancelled their tickets and stopped picking up their calls or switched off his cell phone, he added.
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Probe into Zubeen Garg's death ongoing, no foul play suspected yet: Singapore police
Singapore (PTI): Investigations into the death of singer Zubeen Garg are ongoing but so far no foul play is suspected, Singapore police have said.
Garg died under mysterious circumstances while swimming in the sea in Singapore on September 19.
The case is currently still being investigated by the Singapore Police Force (SPF), in accordance with the Singapore Coroners Act 2010, the police said on Thursday.
“Based on our investigations so far, the SPF does not suspect foul play in the death of Garg,” said the statement.
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Upon completion of the investigations, the findings will be submitted to the State Coroner in Singapore, who will hold a Coroner’s Inquiry (CI), currently scheduled for January and February 2026.
A CI is a fact-finding process led by the Coroner to establish the cause and circumstances of death. Its findings will be made public upon conclusion, said the SPF.
Singapore police are committed to conducting a thorough and professional investigation into the case, it said.
“We seek the patience and understanding of the parties involved. Meanwhile, we urge the public not to speculate and spread unverified information,” said SPF.
A Special Investigation Team probing Garg's death charged four accused, including the singer’s secretary Siddhartha Sharma and festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, with murder in a chargesheet filed in a court in India last week.
Garg was due to perform at the 4th Northeast India Festival at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre on September 20.
