Bengaluru: A 17-year-old Christ College student committed suicide after parting with his parents' fortune to a fortune-teller and not being able to make a girl fall in love with him as predicted and promised by the astrologer, who used a parrot to pick the fortune cards.
The student, Derrick Noel who was studying in second PU, committed suicide by drinking poison at his residence in Pukraj Layout on Bannerghatta Road in Adugodi on December 5. The police initially suspected that the teenager killed himself after he was warned against sending lewd text messages to a classmate.
But the role of the parrot astrologer, who sat in front of the college on the pavement on Hosur Main Road, came out only six days after the youngster's death.
On December 11, the family, which was in dire need of money, opened the almirah to see Rs 1 lakh cash missing along with 400 gm of gold ornaments 12 gold bangles, four gold watches, a gold bracelet and a gold chain all worth over Rs 2.2 lakh. Derrick's father Michael asked his wife Nancy and daughter Gladys, but they too did not know how the money went missing. Michae realised that it was the handiwork of his son and started asking Derrick's friends about his activi ties.
They told Michael that Derrick was a regular at a parrot astrologer in front of the college. The astrologer, Manjunath, had told Derrick that the girl of his choice would fall in love if he continued to follow his soothsaying.
The predictions went wrong repeatedly and Derrick kept stealing from the house almirah to pay the astrologer. Soon, a fortune had gone and Derrick was petrified.
Scared of the wrath of his parents, he committed suicide.Michael filed a complaint with the Adugodi police, asking them to get back cash and gold ornaments from the astrologer.
The police arrested Manjunath in front of the college and recovered cash and gold ornaments intact.
The astrologer has been lodged at the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail after he was remanded to judicial custody.