Mumbai: Pretend angadias loot businessman of Rs 1cr

Bhagaram Ramdal Saraswat (right) Kaluram Bhagirath Sharma

Two men, under the guise of angadias, have been arrested by the LT Marg Police for duping an export company of Rs 1 crore. The accused are cousins, who duped the city-based businessman, so that they could fund lavish houses in their village in Rajasthan. They cheated the businessman who runs a fish exporting company, under the pretext of providing him courier services.

Their two other accomplices are still on the run. The incident came to light when the alleged accused had approached VK Ashraf Enterprises to deliver a courier. "The accused had assured the fish exporting company that they would send the courier of cash amounting to R1 crore to the location safely. However, when they received the amount, they didn't do so. A FIR was registered on March 1," said an officer attached to LT Marg police station.

The police then began to investigate the matter, "During technical investigations, the location of the accused was believed to be in Kolkata. However, during the course of investigation we traced one of the alleged accused to Ahmedabad," said an officer. A team of LT Marg officers was sent to Ahmedabad and the alleged accused was identified as Kaluram Bhagirath Sharma, 22, who was nabbed by the police on March 18. Sharma confessed to the crime and revealed that he didn't commit the crime by himself. He named Bhagaram Ramdal Saraswat as his partner in crime. "He said that his cousin Bhagaram, too, was involved in the crime. The duo lived in a village in Rajasthan," said the officer.

Based on inputs, Bhagaram Ramdal Sarswat, 24, was arrested from Bikaner on March 28. According to the police, both the accused lived in Tejasar village, Bikaner. "The duo had planned to build houses in their villages," the officer added. According to the police, the other two alleged accused are absconding and have switched off their mobile phones. "We will nab the other two," said an officer. The police are scrutinising whether they have a criminal history. "We suspect that the group might have looted many more people." The police are yet to recover the money. An FIR had been registered under Section 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) in this matter.