New Delhi

Two held for cheating

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 28. Two persons who allegedly cheated people on various pretexts have been arrested in Kolkata by the New Delhi police. The accused had recently cheated a Jaipur-based businessman of over Rs. 14 lakhs.

According to the police, they received a complaint from Satyanarain Aggarwal claiming that two persons -- one posing as a Kolkata-based businessman and the other as a Customs official -- cheated him on the pretext of selling high-quality cardamom and clove at unbelievably low prices. The "businessman" met Mr. Aggarwal in December last and offered the deal claiming that Customs officials had seized the consignment during a raid. Lured by the prospect of huge profit, Mr. Aggarwal agreed to meet the Customs official, Rai Babu, at Hotel Taj Palace. During their second meeting in the same hotel, the deal was struck for Rs. 14.37 lakhs. In the meantime, the "Customs official" went out somewhere on the pretext of finding out whether the consignment had reached. Convinced that he would get the goods, Mr. Aggarwal handed over the money to the person posing as the businessman.

The accused kept the money in a briefcase. He soon received a call purportedly made by Rai Babu, following which he handed over a briefcase -- identical to the one that carried money -- to Mr. Aggarwal, saying that the consignment would arrive later. He asked Mr. Aggarwal to meet him the next day at the same place when he would be handed over the goods.

After the accused left, Mr. Aggarwal paid for the restaurant bill. He then opened the briefcase and was shocked to see that there were blank papers in it, after which he lodged a complaint with the Chanakyapuri police. On the basis of the description of the "Customs official", the police traced a dossier of one such person at Karol Bagh police station and found out that the suspect, identified as Mohammad Hussain Ali.

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