Dharmasthala Soujanya helpline: Bengaluru woman booked for allegedly cheating man of ₹3.2 lakh

Mangaluru/Bengaluru

A woman from Bengaluru, identified as Sandhya Pavitra Nagaraj, has been booked by the Poonjalkatte Police in Dakshina Kannada district for allegedly cheating a man of over ₹3.2 lakh under the pretext of providing legal assistance through an initiative called “Soujanya Helpline”.

It may be recalled that Soujanya, minor girl from Dharmasthala village in Dakshina Kannada district was brutally murdered in 2012 when she was returning from college. The local police , Criminal Investigation Department and Central Bureau of Investigation failed to find the culprits. The man who was arrested in the case has been acquitted in 2023. 

According to the complaint filed by K. Rajesh, a resident of Maladi in Madanthyar of Belthangady taluk and a professional singer, the accused claimed to help people facing false legal cases. Rajesh came into contact with Sandhya through Facebook in 2024, where he was performing live music shows on a page named Aravind Vivek. Sandhya introduced herself as someone who ran Sowjanya Helpline, an organisation that allegedly supported victims of legal fraud and claimed she had resolved several such cases.

Rajesh, who had a case registered against him at the Bantwal police station, sought her help. Sandhya allegedly assured him that she would resolve the matter in the High Court but claimed it would involve some expenses. Believing her, Rajesh paid her a total of ₹3.2 lakh in installments.

However, when the promised legal resolution did not materialize, Rajesh questioned her, to which she allegedly demanded more money. When he asked for documentation of the legal proceedings, she reportedly threatened to harm him.

Following this, Rajesh lodged a complaint at the Poonjalkatte police station. A case has been registered under Sections 318(4) and 351(2) of the BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), and police have launched an investigation into the alleged fraud.