Police said they were taken into custody based on a complaint by a woman. (Representational)
A self-styled spiritual guru and his brother have been arrested for allegedly cheating several people of over Rs 50 crore in a multi-level marketing racket, the police said on Monday.
E Kumar Girish Singh and Dileep Singh were taken into custody based on a complaint by a woman from whom the Rs 21.78 lakh was collected for investment in 'DREAM BRIDZ', a social business network, assuring huge profits within a short period if the investors enrolled two new members each, a police release said.
Girish, his wife, who is absconding, his brother and along with their followers, under the guise of running 'Advaita Spiritual Recharge Centre for Excellence', had allegedly cheated hundreds of people by collecting crores of rupees, it said.
Cases have been registered against them under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the the AP Protection of Depositors From Financial Establishment Act and Price Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act.
Girish claimed himself to be a spiritual guru and been preaching various spiritual kriyas (yogas) through television channels and social media.
He allegedly collected huge deposits saying the money would invested in businesses like social trade, multi-level digital markets, e-commerce portals, Bitcoin, bank and 'G-coin' (Girish coin) a film production company, airlines and gold and diamond trade among others.
Girish started more than 30 shell companies in his and his brother's names and further collected between Rs 50-Rs 60 crore from his followers and people, but did not start any business, the release added.