Yoga therapist who duped techie couple arrested

Police has arrested a Yoga therapist in Madhapur on charges of wrongfully confining a techie couple and cheating and extorting money from them.

According to police, the couple, software professionals Ganti Jagadish and Kiranmayi of Kondapur, had joined the SSHURE Yoga Centre in Madhapur, run by Nammi Ushasri, over two months ago, along with their children Karthik and Venu. Subsequently, Kiranmayi had confided in Ushasri that the couple were suffering from depression due to family problems and were desperately looking for remedies. Ushasri, with the help of a friend, J. Abhishek, lured the couple into a trap, promising them help through ‘spiritual counselling’ and Kayakalpa therapy.

Between June 27 and June 29, the couple were kept confined in the yoga centre under this pretext, while Ushasri extracted personal information about the couple.

“On June 30, Ushasri and Abhishek made arrangements for a puja at the centre, during which they hypnotised the couple,” Madhapur Inspector Kalinga Rao said.

On July 2, the couple were taken to Kali Mandir in Nanakramguda for some more rituals. They were then told that they would be taken on a pilgrimage to Srisailam.

Midway, however, the accused took the couple to Srirangam in Tamil Nadu and thence to Arunachalam. There, they forced the couple to transfer `2 lakh to their account.

The couple’s relatives had no information on their whereabouts. It was only when Kiranmayi updated her Facebook status using her mobile phone that they came to know. The relatives promptly lodged a complaint with the police. Based on the location of Kiranmayi’s mobile phone, police tracked them down, rescued the couple and arrested Ushasri and her associate.

When found that Ushasri was living alone in Madhapur. She started the yoga centre two years ago.

Ushasri and Abhishek have been booked under charges of wrongful confinement, cheating, extortion, assault and outraging the modesty of a woman.