30 January,2014 07:31 AM IST | | Saurabh Vaktania
Two bikers tell potato vendor that they were from an NGO that gave out money to senior citizens; they ask her to ‘bless’ the 500-rupee note with her gold chain and dupes her of it, while taking the money back as well
Two men on a motorcycle approached Muktabai Wetal (65), a vendor of potatoes and onions in Kalina, around 9 am yesterday. They told her they were from an NGO that disbursed Rs 500 to every senior citizen in Mumbai. According to the Vakola police, the men spoke clearly and fluently.
The duo then took out a 500-rupee note and asked Wetal to remove the gold chain around her neck to âbless' the amount, as a good luck charm. Convinced of their ânoble motive', Wetal did so. The accused then took out a black plastic bag and put the money and the chain, worth Rs 50,000, inside it.
They then told the woman that they would give her R40 more. The men took out the money and put it in the bag, and swiftly, removed the chain and the 500-rupee note from the black polythene bag. The hand movement was so fast that Wetal didn't even get to know of it.
While leaving, the two ask for 2 kgs of potatoes. Wetal, thinking they had just given her Rs 500, gave them for free.
After the men left, Wetal put her hand in the bag and was distraught to find only Rs 40, the cost of the 2 kg of potatoes she had inadvertently sold. In the bargain, she lost a valuable gold chain.
