The Kattappana police are planning to go to Karnataka in search of four fraudsters who tried to defraud a Bangalore-based businessman T Ramachandra of `15 lakh here. The police have registered a case against the four persons hailing from Karnataka based on a complaint lodged by the businessman.
Kolar-based Ramachandra’s presence of mind saved him from being duped by the fraudsters who offered him a low-interest loan in exchange for a commission.Ramachandra, the owner of Bhimanth Ceramics, was trying to get a loan of `10 crore for his business needs, when a person named Kannan befriended him and offered him `7 crore at an interest rate of six per cent. For this, Kannan sought `15 lakh as commission, the police said. Convinced by the offer, Ramachandra went ahead and expressed his willingness to accept the deal. Ramachandra was asked to submit the proof of his assets, which are worth `60 crore, the police said.
Kannan and his accomplices Rajashekharan, Vijaykumar and Karthik asked Ramachandra to go to Salem, Tamil Nadu, to collect the money. When Ramachandra and his friends arrived at Salem, he was instructed via phone to head for Kumily instead. Then they were called to Puliyanmala, near Kattappana, to claim the amount. The fraudsters said that two aluminium trunks carried the money. They demanded `15 lakh before handing over the trunks. When Ramachandra insisted on getting the money deposited in a bank, the fraudsters gave them the slip.
Ramachandra lodged a complaint with the Kattappana police who reached the spot and found the trunks filled with newspaper bundles cut in the size of currency notes with `1,000 notes on top and bottom.