Rs 14-Crore Cure For Daughter: How Self-Styled Godman Conned Pune Techie

A Pune-based IT engineer lost everything, including his life savings and his home abroad, after he was duped into believing that a godman's spirit living inside a woman could cure his seriously ill daughter.

Over seven years, he handed over nearly Rs 14 crore to a self-styled godman and his disciple, only to discover it was all an elaborate fraud.

'Baba' Deepak Khadke and his disciple Vedika Pandharpurkar convinced the engineer, Deepak Dolas, that Shankar Maharaj - a godman who died in 1947 - resided in Vedika's body and could heal his daughter's incurable congenital disease.

Dolas, deeply concerned for his daughter's health, was told that only unwavering faith could save her. He was told that if he donated all his property to the Maharaj, his daughter would recover.

For seven years, the engineer was promised the 'darshan' (vision) of Shankar Maharaj. Desperate for a cure for his daughter, he began transferring money, first from his bank accounts and later by selling his home and farmhouse in the UK.

Dolas gradually lost all his savings, possessions and bank deposits, totalling about Rs 14 crore. The money was transferred to Vedika's account. 

When his daughter's condition did not improve, Dolas confronted them and realised he had been defrauded. 

Investigators found that Vedika had allegedly used part of the money to buy a bungalow in Mahatma Society, a posh area in Kothrud, Pune.

A complaint has been filed regarding the matter.