‘Junagadh Naga Baba’ held in Ahmedabad for cheating devotees, stealing jewellery

The Local Crime Branch (LCB) of Zone-7, Ahmedabad City Police, has arrested the alleged mastermind of a notorious 'Madari gang' accused of exploiting people’s faith and duping them into handing over gold jewellery under the guise of spiritual rituals and fear tactics.

Police said the accused, identified as Savan Nath alias Rishi Samjunath Bhati, 21, was apprehended with stolen gold ornaments in connection with two undetected cheating cases registered at Naroda Police Station.

According to the police, the accused had allegedly been operating under the alias 'Junagadh Na Nagabawa' in parts of Saurashtra and was wanted in at least five criminal cases registered across Gujarat.

During patrolling in the Zone-7 area, the LCB team led by Police Sub-Inspector H.D. Vaghela received a tip-off regarding a man who had allegedly cheated a woman and a man in the Naroda area by posing as a spiritual healer and fleeing with their gold ornaments.

Acting on the information, the police tracked down and arrested the accused. During interrogation, investigators discovered that the accused was allegedly the same fraudster popularly referred to as the 'Junagadh Na Nagabawa', against whom multiple cases are pending in different police stations.

Police said two offences registered at Naroda Police Station under Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) were solved following the arrest.

The accused is also wanted in cases registered at Pipavav Police Station in Amreli district, Una Police Station in Gir Somnath, Jetpur Industrial Police Station in Rajkot Rural, Chiloda Police Station in Gandhinagar district, and Idar Police Station in Sabarkantha district.

Police recovered two gold earrings, a gold diamond-studded ring and a mobile phone collectively valued at ₹1.04 lakh from the accused.

Investigators further revealed that the accused has a criminal history dating back to 2015, with previous offences registered at Dahegam, Ranip, Shaherkotda and Chandkheda police stations involving charges such as theft, criminal breach of trust, robbery and assault.