Businessman cheated of ₹1 cr. in ‘rice puller’ scam

Victim was promised profit of ₹50 crore as part of the deal

July 20, 2018 12:35 am | Updated 12:35 am IST - Navi Mumbai

Kalamboli police have booked six men for cheating a 40-year-old businessman of ₹1.09 crore.

The accused have been identified as Anil Sali, director of Seizetech Antique Private Limited, his partner Rajiv Mukherjee, company coordinator Sajjad Shaikh, radiation checkers Sujav and Ranbeer, and Raju Mandal, a resident of Kolkata.

The complainant, Ashfaq Hussain Miya Khamse, a resident of Kharghar, said Mr. Sali called him in March last year and offered to deal to buy a metal called ‘rice puller’. The metal made of copper and iridium was apparently highly valuable and used for generating energy.

Senior police inspector Raju Sonawane said, “Mr. Sali met Mr. Khamse and told him that he bought the metal and sold it for crores of rupees to other countries. He told Mr. Khamse he was willing to buy the metal if he could find it.”

Mr. Khamse was promised a profit of ₹50 crore if he made an initial investment of ₹1.09 crore. A few days later, Mr. Mandal called Mr. Khamse and told him that he had found reserves of the metal in a village in Kolkata. He sent air tickets to Mr. Khamse and later showed him the metal.

When Mr. Khamse informed Mr. Sali of the discovery, he arrived in Kolkata with Mr. Mukherjee, Sujav and Ranbeer.

Mr. Sonawane said, “Mr. Sali examined the metal and told Mr. Khamse that it emitted high frequency radiation. He said a coating of a chemical available only with the Defence Research and Development Organisation had to be applied on the metal. He said the chemical would cost 1% of the market value of the metal, which was ₹100 crore.” Mr. Khamse then paid ₹1.09 crore to Mr. Sali to buy the chemical.

Mr. Sali and his partner soon stopped taking Mr. Khamse calls. When he demanded his money back, Mr. Sali paid him ₹19 lakh and warned him not to ask for more. Mr. Khamse then registered a case with Kalamboli police on Wednesday. The Economic Offences Wing Unit II has started investigating the case.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.