BENGALURU: Mico Layout police on Monday arrested a gang of five men for conning businessmen after promising them loans from foreign banks at low interest rates.
The men — Patrick Allanso (41), Suresh Babu (49), Shivaraj (51), Gnanesh (47) and Nanja Reddy (46) — had been cheating people and leading a lavish life, buying gold ornaments, expensive gadgets and imported cars with the money.
Police said a complaint was lodged against them by Mohammed Arif, a city-based businessman. According to Arif, Allanso and his associates approached him some time ago claiming to be running a firm called SPAM Business Private Ltd.
They promised to get him `25 crore in loans and convinced him to deposit `25 lakh in their account. Arif did so but when he tried to contact them after the transaction, they were not reachable. After a while, he managed to get hold of them and asked for his money, but soon enough, they disappeared again.
During interrogation, the gang is said to have confessed to cheating many people in different states. They are also said to have tricked a few people claiming to have rice pullers (items that can attract rice). They used to book rooms in posh hotels and meet their clients there to make a good first impression and win their trust.
Woman Jumps to Death from Tank
A 26-year-old woman, said to be depressed, committed suicide by jumping from an overhead water tank at Nelamangala Town in the outskirts of the city on Monday.
The deceased Vijetha, daughter of Anandkumar, was staying with her parents and a five-year-old daughter at Weavers’ Colony.
Police said on Monday evening, Vijetha parked her two-wheeler by the roadside, climbed the overhead tank and jumped to her death. A security guard found her lying in a pool of blood and alerted other people who rushed her to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead.
Vijetha had married Naveen Kumar, an employee at a private company, six years ago, but they had since separated. Since then, she was said to be depressed, Nelamangala Town police said.