Puri, September 21 (Odisha.in) Police have arrested four persons for their allegedly involvement in cheating to the tune of Rs 13.5 lakhs in the pilgrim city of Puri.
Those who have been arrested are Seikh Akhtar, Seikh Rajak, Jayaram Patra and Kamalakanta Khandei, and belong to an inter-district gang of cheats.
According to the town police inspector in-charge Alekh Chandra Pai, the criminals had contacted Narayan Mahasuar of Manikarnika Sahi and offered him to supply gold biscuits at cheaper rate.
They had told him that as against the prevailing market price of Rs 8.4 lakh per kg they would charge him only Rs 5 lakh 30 thousand per kg. They also showed him a sample of the gold biscuit.
Mahasuar was allured by such an offer and showed much interest in the deal. He was asked to keep the entire amount of Rs 13.5 lakh in a bag and lock it with him.
It was to be handed over to the suppliers of gold after receiving the consignment.
However since they did not turn up on the appointed date, Mahasuar opened the bag only to find bundles of newspapers instead of thousand rupees currencies, which were put inside it.
Finding no way out he could manage to contact the middleman who had negotiated for the deal and threatened him with dire consequences.
A plan was hatched and message was sent to the so-called gold biscuit dealers to come for a deal worth Rs 25 lakh to an appointed place. As all the four criminals arrived there Mahasuar overpowered them with his friends and handed over them to the police.
The investigating officer Pai however said that they have confessed during interrogation that they had carried two identical bags with them to dupe Mahasuar.
While one was filled with bundles of newspapers cut into size of Rs 1000 currencies, the other bag was empty. Mahasuar was given the empty bag to fill with money and was asked to fetch drinking water from home, while he went inside the bags were exchanged.
Now the police is further integrating them to find out their links with other criminals expected to spread all over the State as part of their net work.
Odisha.in