India, Nov. 18 -- A 70-year-old retired woman was cheated of Rs.24.60 lakh under the pretext of performing religious rituals and making donations to a 'godman'. The Vithalwadi police have registered a case against eight accused, out of whom five were arrested on Monday.

The victim, Shakuntala Bulchand Ahuja, a retired employee of the Public Works Department (PWD), lives alone at Sai Meharwan Palace in Ulhasnagar. Police said the accused - identified as Karishma, Sahil, Goli, Usha, Yash, Lavina, Kashish, and a man known as 'Guruji' - exploited her loneliness and conspired to defraud her between January 2023 and November 11, 2025.

According to the police, the fraud began when one of the accused, Karishma, took Rs.10 lakh from Ahuja under ...