CHENNAI: Two conmen exploited the desperation of a
Mylapore milk dealer neck deep in losses to cheat him of Rs 1 crore, promising to help him obtain a loan of Rs 50 crore and making away with the cash late on Thursday night.
Police launched a search for the suspects on a complaint by Mohanasundaram, 55.
Gandhilal and Ram Kumar appeared to be a godsend for Mohanasundaram, a native of
Erode, who tried to tap various sources for credit but to no avail, an investigating officer said. “A common friend who knew about Mohanasundaram’s quandary introduced the cheats to the milk trader,” the officer said. “They promised to give Mohanasundaram a loan of Rs 50 crore for a commission of 2%.”
Mohanasundaram agreed, collected Rs 1 crore in cash and took the money to a serviced apartment on Karpagam Avenue in Raja Annamalaipuram around 11.30pm on Thursday.
“The suspects told the apartment staff that they wanted to book a room,” the officer said. “When Mohanasundaram arrived with the cash in a suitcase, they took him with them, telling the staff that they would show him the room.”
An employee later told investigators that he saw one of the two suspects rush downstairs with a suitcase. When the employee asked the suspect whether he could book the room, the suspect asked him to go ahead.
“He asked him to book the room in the name of Ramesh, from Trichy, and hurried away,” the officer said. “By then the conmen had taken Mohanasundaram to the room upstairs and tricked him into handing over the cash. They pretended to go next door to bring the money they had promised as a loan and made a swift exit.”
Senior officers have started a probe. A group of investigators has left for Bengaluru on the trail of the cheats.
Representative image
