Jaipur: Man pays Rs 5 lakh for rare owl, gets small pigeon in cage

JAIPUR: A 30-year-old man in Kaladera village of Jaipur was duped of Rs 5 lakh after a gang promised him a rare owl but instead gave him a small pigeon in a cage covered in a towel.
The two con men gave a specific instruction to buyer Jagdish Kumar not to remove the towel from the bird because any exposure could land him and the bird in trouble. According to Govindgarh DSP Sandeep Sarswat, Kumar was happily returning after the purchase when he stopped near a salon. “The salon owner requested Kumar to remove the cloth from the owl because he wanted to look at the rare bird. When he removed the cloth, he found that there was no owl, but a pigeon,” Sarswat said, adding that Kumar quickly rushed to the police station and filed a complaint.
“The complainant claimed that he had given Rs 5 lakh to a person who promised him an owl that could be sold in the market for Rs 90 lakh. He was elated at the offer and paid the money,” Sarswat said, adding that an FIR was registered and the police teams fanned out to track down the cheaters.
Police on Tuesday arrested two persons identified as Sayar Mal (21) and Bhanwar, alias Raju Bawariya (30). “The gang has a simple modus operandi. They trick unsuspecting people into believing that a good owl can be sold into the grey market for as high as Rs 90 lakh. They then hand over a bird covered in a cloth to the victim,” Sarswat told TOI.
Police said investigation was underway to check if the gang had other members involved in similar criminal cases. This is the second incident of owl trading in a week in Jaipur. On Friday, Shahpura police station in a similar case had arrested Bishan Lal alias Vishnu (20) and Roshan Kumar (24), the duo had duped one person of Rs 6 lakh by offering to sell an indigenous owl that could be sold to another party for Rs 45 lakh.
Jaipur rural police said they had been keeping a close watch on gangs that dupe people by selling tortoises and owls for lakhs of rupees.