Shirdi: A case has been registered against three individuals for allegedly cheating Sai devotees from the United Kingdom by selling pooja material worth Rs 500 for Rs 4,000.
A family of Sai devotees originally from Punjab, now settled in the UK for business purposes, had come to visit the Shirdi Sai Baba shrine in Maharashtra's Ahilyanagar. While on their way to the temple, a commission agent allegedly forced them to enter a garland-flower prasad shop. The shop owners sold them pooja material at a high price.
Realising they had been cheated, the family approached Rohidas Mali, the security officer of Sai Sansthan, who took them to the Shirdi police station and requested action. Following this, the Shirdi police registered a case for cheating and took two individuals, the owner of the flower shop premises and the driver into custody. The search for the third accused, the commission agent, is underway.
Sources said that small flower shops are rented at high rates of Rs 3,000 to 4,000 per day. Authorities have decided to hold shop owners accountable for such fraudulent activities.
Shirdi Sub-Divisional Police Officer Shirish Wamane said that all flower shop premises in Shirdi will be required to display price lists of pooja materials. There have also been proposals to take strict action against such malpractices, including registering cases against shop owners where fraud occurs.
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