KOCHI: Kochi City police have arrested two members of an interstate cheating gang for allegedly defrauding a couple of Rs 6 lakh by promising to sell them gold, which later turned out to be fake. The arrested are Arjun, 30, and Vinod, 23, both belonging to Mysuru in Karnataka. They were arrested by the Palarivattom police from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.
According to the police, the accused befriended the couple at a coffee shop near the Kaloor stadium. Claiming that they had unearthed gold while excavating land in Mysuru, the gang approached the couple, saying they wanted help selling it. To gain the victims’ confidence, the suspects allegedly handed over a genuine gold sample.
They later claimed that they urgently needed money for the marriage of one of their sisters and offered to sell the remaining gold at a lower price. The couple was asked to pay an advance of Rs 6 lakh, with the balance to be paid after the sale. Believing the offer, the couple handed over the money near the stadium. Soon after receiving the cash, the accused switched off their mobile phones and disappeared.
Realising they had been cheated, the couple approached Palarivattom police, who registered a case based on the woman’s complaint and formed a special investigation team. During the probe, police found that the accused were part of an interstate gang of fraudsters, originally from Rajasthan but operating from Mysuru.