A priest in a temple was arrested by the Arilova police on Wednesday on the charge of cheating women devotees.
He was identified as K. Subrahmanya Phani Sarma.
The police said that the accused, when he was working as a priest in various temples, befriended many women devotees, especially those in some kind of problems such as not having children or family troubles. He was charged with collecting huge sums of money from a few women by promising them to perform some puja as a remedy for their sufferings.
The police told the media that the accused had taken Rs. 10 lakh from a woman in Gajuwaka and Rs. 15 lakh and 10 tola of gold from an NRI woman from MVP Colony.
The women, suspecting his genuineness, lodged a complaint with police.
He is charged with taking huge amounts on the pretext of performing puja