05 May,2011 06:32 AM IST | | Imran Gowhar
Believing it to be an amazing deal, victim agrees to pay the amount for 1 lakh Riyals and finds out that only the first few notes in the bundles were genuine
Nimble crooks fooled a cloth merchant into parting with Rs 4 lakh for a few genuine Saudi Arabian currency notes, while the rest turn out to be plain pieces of paper cleverly cut to size.
Rizwan Sheikh (30), who owns a cloth centre at Shivaji Nagar, was approached by a customer who after purchasing dress material handed him a 100 Riyal denomination note.
The con man said that he had around 1 lakh Riyals, which he wanted to exchange for a mere
Rs 4.5 lakh
Sheikh informed him that he would not be able to accept Riyals as he conducted transactions using Indian currency.
u00a0
The customer informed Sheikh that he had around 1 lakh Riyals and would be happy to exchange it for a mere Rs 4.5 lakh.
Sheikh thought that the offer was too good to be missed and even managed to bargain with the man and the deal was settled for Rs 4 lakh, which was to be paid the next day.
On Tuesday, Sheikh arranged the amount by borrowing from friends and family and proceeded towards St Mary's Church where he was handed a parcel after paying Rs 4 lakh.
Late realisation
Out of curiosity, he opened the parcel only to discover that the top few notes of the wads were genuine, while the ones below were plain paper cut to size.
He immediately raised an alarm and started chasing the cheat, however three persons standing nearby, blocked him from following the conman. Sheikh managed to overpower one of the men with the help of passers-by, while the rest managed to escape.
He approached the Shivaji Nagar police along with the man and the parcel and informed the cops about the transaction.
Upon questioning, the accused identified himself as Mohammed Zaheer (30), from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, who had come to Bangalore with three friends.
The police have booked a case of cheating against Zakeer and are trying to track down the other three with the help of mobile phone numbers, which were used to communicate with Sheikh.
"We are tracking the remaining three with the help of call details. They are still in the city," said a police officer investigating the case.
