Pune: Suspended railway cop nabbed in 'rice puller' fraud

PUNE: A 56-year-old suspended railway police sub-inspector's habit of betting on horse races helped police to arrest him on August 14 for cheating a Susgaon farmer and his family of Rs49 lakh two months ago by luring them to invest in the capital market and "rice puller" and earn crores of rupees by selling it to a US-based space agency.
The "rice puller" is a copper-iridium metal object that is often used by tricksters to fool the gullible by stating that it is "auspicious and high in demand".
Acting on a tip-off, senior inspector Vivek Mugalikar and his team arrested the suspect from his flat in Khadki. They had already arrested six of his associates in June. Their custodial interrogation revealed that the group had cheated over 100 people across Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Pune and other places in the state and Belagavi in Karnataka.
"The Susgaon farmer and his family sold their nine acres of land, which they had purchased for Rs1.5 crore, for only Rs35 lakh to pay for the rice puller in the hope of earning crores of rupees," said Mugalikar.
Assistant inspector Ajitkumar Khatal of the Hinjewadi police said the suspended PSI was the mastermind of the fraud. "He used to target people through his accomplices, both men and women. His accomplices, who used to pose as agents, would lure people by promising handsome returns on investments in the capital market and the 'rice puller'. They would collect money from the victims and hand it over to the prime suspect," he said.
Khatal said the suspect only used to accept cash from these agents. The prime suspect was a glib talker and used to take the targets to cities such as New Delhi and Bengaluru under the pretext of arranging their meetings with top government officials. He used to gain their confidence by showing them fake certificates issued by different government departments, said Khatal.
"Investigation so far has revealed that the suspended sub-inspector and his accomplices have duped over 100 people of over Rs5 crore," said Khatal.
"The suspended sub-inspector had spent the money by betting on horse races. He used to travel to the major cities where horse races are organised. He also frequently changed his cellphone number. His habit of betting helped us track him," said Khatal.