Duo held for trying to sell fake antique

The Task Force police on Monday arrested two persons who were involved in trying to sell a stone Nandi idol to a person by portraying it as an antique piece.  Police seized the idol from the accused.

Police arrested K S. Jabbar (35), a real estate agent and resident of KPHB and B Ramu (30), a resident of Kukatpally. The duo were trying to sell the idol to a customer when the police apprehended them. The accused, along with seized material, were handed over to the S.R.Nagar police for further investigation.

About one-and-half-years ago, Jabbar purchased a Nandi idol from Swami, a resident of Chennai, who had come to Jabbar's real estate office at Banjara Hills. Swami made him believe that the idol was made of Ruby and was an antique piece. He also said that if the idol was kept in his house, he would gain wealth and that it would fetch an amount of `50 lakh if sold in the market.

"Though the Nandi idol's value was not more than `10,000, Jabbar purchased it for `3.5 lakhs from Swami. He was searching for potential customers to sell the idol for a good amount and though he showed the idol to several persons, no one wanted to buy the idol for the high amount. Suspecting the genuineness of the idol, he took it to gem testing laboratory at Abids, where he found that the idol was in fact made of an ordinary stone. After realising that he had been duped, he hatched a plan to dispose of the idol to a customer for at least `5 lakh.

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The New Indian Express
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