Bengaluru woman duped by online pals, loses gold worth lakhs

Bengaluru: What began as a seemingly harmless friendship on social media spiralled into a chilling tale of manipulation and extortion. A 32-year-old woman found herself trapped in a web of deceit spun over nearly one and a half years. Friendly online interactions with two individuals gradually evolved into trust — only to be exploited, leaving her stripped of a huge quantity of gold ornaments.The ordeal came to light after the victim, a homemaker and wife of a real estate businessman residing in Seegehalli, approached police on Feb 10. Acting on her complaint, a team led by inspector Ramamurthy B of KR Pura station launched an investigation that took it to multiple states.Cops have now arrested the two accused — Mahesh, 36, from Telangana's Nizamabad district, and Swamy, 40, from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh — and recovered 571 grams of gold ornaments worth Rs 85.6 lakh. Mahesh and Swamy had befriended the woman on Snapchat, and the trio's casual chats soon escalated into frequent video calls, voice calls, and messages. Over time, the woman developed a level of trust in both men, unaware of the trap being laid.The woman even invited them separately to her house. Taking advantage of her trust, Mahesh began spinning tales of financial distress, claiming losses in his real estate business, and started borrowing gold ornaments from her. Around the same time, Swamy too sought small quantities of gold and cash, promising to return them. Notably, the two accused did not know each other, and the woman maintained both friendships.Trouble began when she asked for her gold back, saying her husband was questioning her about it. Instead of returning the ornaments, both Mahesh and Swamy allegedly threatened to expose their friendship to her husband, turning the emotional manipulation into outright extortion.Police tracked down Mahesh on March 3. After divorcing his wife and borrowing money in his native place, he had left the house and was staying in a paying guest accommodation in Hyderabad. According to police, he targeted women on social media, cheated them, and lived a lavish lifestyle using the proceeds. He sold nearly 1kg of gold taken from the victim, and spent the money on personal expenses and online betting. The remaining 571 grams of gold, pledged in two banks and a jewellery shop in Hyderabad, has been recovered.Swamy was arrested on March 19 in Anantapur. Both have been remanded in judicial custody.