Mangalore: 'Treasure' that Left Three Men Poorer by Rs 30 Lac

Florine Roche
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, Mar 10: It can be termed as Mammonism (greed) or the mastery of con artists in their specialized art of deceiving gullible people which has left 3 people of Mangalore poorer by 10 lacs each. The over-intelligent threesome are now brooding over the loss of ten lacs of hard earned money in a matter of few days, having been taken for a royal and costly ride by the uneducated common village folks, who used simple tricks to loot the city-bred and educated business people. While these three are cursing their own fate, the fraudsters must be having the last laugh enjoying the booty of Rs 30 lacs which they could swindle easily in one go. And who knows how many people they have bamboozled likewise.

The incident occurred about three months ago. One of the engineers of a constructor/builder had received a call from some place in Harihar in Karnataka saying he can supply labour for their construction activities. Not suspecting anything amiss the engineer had first saved the number and givem it to his builder/contractor who called back within a week asking for labour as there was a severe shortage during the month of November-December. That was just the beginning.

Within a week of contact the conman from the other end began to tell his concocted story to the contractor behaving as if he was scared and he needed the help of city-bred people like him to help him to deal with the problem. The conman’s mannerisms, smooth talk and acting were so persuasive the unsuspecting contractor tried to become his benefactor. The conman told him that his family has unearthed some ‘treasure’ in an urn while digging a well in their native place and this treasure included about 20 kgs of 24 carat gold coins of 1 gram each. He also told the contractor that the family is scared of the police and others who might get a wind of it and they might lose this ‘godsend’ gift. The con artist having given a hint that they have caught hold of a ‘bakra’ used every trick up his sleeves to make him believe his story. The fraudster even implored the contractor to take the gold away and pay him after selling the gold if he cannot trust him.

By now the contractor who developed cold feet told about the incident to two of his friends, who instead of dissuading him bolstered his spirits saying ‘they might be genuinely scared and want the help of city people as they are unable to establish contacts with the right kind of people to sell their treasure’. So when the conman contacted again the trio agreed to meet them.

They went in a car to Harihar via Shimoga and from there to some village temple where a gang of 3 met the trio and offered about 25 coins of one gram each as ‘sample gold’. The con man behaved as if they were petrified and asked the strangers repeatedly whether they have informed the police. It was agreed that if the trio felt the gold is genuine they would strike a deal. The trio came back, got the coins checked with a goldsmith and found it to be pure gold of 24 carats. They believed they have stepped on a gold mine and decided to go for 1 kg gold each and the bargain was fixed at Rs. 10 lacs each for 3 kg of gold for three people. The soaring gold prices must have given them a real kick thinking they have hit the jackpot.

The trio collected the required money with great difficulty as none of them had ready cash of Rs. 10 lacs to spare for buying this gold. Two of them even pledged their wives’ gold to accumulate the required money. This time around the trio is asked to come by bus to Harihar and from there they were made to change 3 to 4 buses and finally met them in a remote village. The three men came with the gold pack of one kg tied to their waists in an old cloth, behaving as if they might be spotted by someone.

Among the three men who came with the gold packets one was an old chap with a smooth tongue who behaved as if the family needed the money urgently to marry off two daughters of the household. The packet had come in one kg pack exactly and they trio verified at as they had taken a weighing scale with them (one should appreciate their prudence). They untied the old cloth and found the shimmering gold coins in an old plastic bag smeared with ‘Kunkuma’. When asked why they have used Kunkuma in the coins the conmen replied that since it was a treasure they make pooja to it every day.

Somehow it looked as though the trio had the nagging doubt about the credibility of the gold coins and even insisted that one of them accompany to Mangalore and come back once the authenticity of the gold is verified. The conmen agreed. The leader of the group chose one man to accompany them and gave Rs. 50,000/- to him saying he should give the money to “thatha”, the head of the family living in Shimoga as he needed the money urgently to prepare for his daughter’s wedding. It was a ploy as the money was given to him for safety measure for his easy escape from the trio.

Satisfied with the arrangement the trio plus the conman were returning to Mangalore by night bus. On the way the man said he has to go to the toilet and vanished from the scene. The three men soon realized they were hoodwinked by simple village folks but did nothing fearing for the safety of their lives. After all, they were in their locality and any action to call police or face the con members would prove fatal. Left with no other choice they came back home poorer by 10 lacs each and are now repenting at leisure for having acted in haste.

Going through some earlier reports, it is realized that similar organized interstate rackets are thriving all over the country. Recently a man from Nagpur was arrested with a similar story when he was trying to cheat a retired naval officer up to a tune of Rs. 5 lacs. Just last month a con couple was arrested Chandrapur in Maharasthra when they were trying to sell 2 kg fake gold to a vegetable vendor. Similarly in January this year Madhurai police had arrested a gang of 8 people of a family that included four women, which provides credence to the police claim of inter-state racquet being active in many states.

It is not the first of its kind of incident in Mangalore. Almost a decade back 3 people were similarly brainwashed by another simpleton who used to frequent a well known hotel in Mangalore known for its cabaret dances. The then manager and his acquaintances noticed that a young man was throwing bundles of 100 rupee notes at the dancers for almost a week. When asked he revealed that his family has found a treasure and all that blah blah blah…. Needless to say they got embroiled in the murky fake gold racquet losing a huge amount of their hard earned money. Sensing danger to their lives they did not lodge a complaint despite burning their fingers.

There might many more people who might have got themselves fooled or tricked by such make-to-believe stories but may not come out in the open to say they have been outsmarted and outwitted by people who they consider as less educated or less intelligent.

It is difficult to imagine what made the trio fall into such a trap woven by these urchins. As long as there are fools, who fail to use their reasoning power such tricksters would survive and continue with their confidence tricks.

It is a caution for the people not to fall prey to such lures of easy money and if they really come across such instances they should take the police into confidence and help burst the racquet so that gullible people are not deceived.