BENGALURU: A man claiming to be a doctor with a well-known hospital, managed to pull off a classic con when he walked into a jewellery shop, told them he would buy a gold chain, asked the sales staff to come to his ‘office’ for the payment and disappeared once inside the hospital premises. The incident occurred on February 5 when the man walked into the Sulthan Diamonds and Gold showroom in Jayanagar 3rd block around 1.10pm.

The man, who looks to be in his late 30s, asked the salesman Manoj to show him gold chains designed for women saying he needed to gift it to a friend. Striking up a conversation with Manoj while viewing the chains on display, the man mentioned that he was short of time and asked the salesman to finish the billing procedure for a chain that he had selected. 

The conman then introduced himself as Dr Srinivasan and said that he was working in Apollo hospitals, a branch of which is located near the shop. A bill for Rs 75,000 was made in the name provided. The ‘doctor’ then told the shop that since his card had a limit, he wanted Manoj to accompany him to the hospital so that he could pay from cash kept in his office. 

As he was dressed in formals and well-behaved, the shop staff believed that he was a doctor and sent Manoj to the hospital to collect the cash.  “While walking to the hospital he inquired about our showroom and how many branches we have. He was polite and professional and we didn’t suspect a thing. On reaching the hospital he took me to the reception and asked me to wait there. He took the chain from me and said he would get the cash from his cabin.

He walked towards the staff passage where there was OPD, X-Ray and scanning rooms. After waiting for him for some time, I went to the receptionist and asked them to call Dr Srinivasan and they told me there was no doctor by that name,” Manoj said. 

“When I explained about the purchase, they showed me photos of all doctors and this person was not on the list. He went to the end of the passage and took the emergency exit to enter the basement. He escaped from there,” Manoj said. Staff at the store said that they suspected that the conman had visited the hospital for a recce before carrying out his plan. “He spoke in a mix of Tamil and Kannada,” Manoj said.
The Jayanagar police have taken up a case. 

NOT THE FIRST TIME
This is not the first time that this man pulled off the con. A CCTV grab of him stealing from a store in Rajajinagar at an earlier date is also available. The man walked into the Shree Jewel Palace and carried out the same stunt while claiming to be a doctor in a nearby hospital.