BARGARH: Bargarh police on Saturday night arrested 13 persons for allegedly duping a man of Rs 2 lakh by posing as staff of a fake company. According to police, the victim Ajay Rekhani, a businessman by profession, had put up an advertisement letting one of his four-storey buildings on rent. Soon after, two of the accused approached him introducing themselves as brokers of a company Mahindra Summit Agro Sciences Limited, which was fake.
They said they were looking for a place to set up a laboratory for research on agricultural technology and that his building suited the purpose best. The accused then offered him a rent of Rs 6.5 lakh per month which was reportedly twice the market price. They further demanded him a brokerage of Rs 2 lakh which Rekhani said he would pay only after the deal was finalised.
Lured by the offer, Rekhani signed the documents. He then contacted on the phone number mentioned on the company’s website which was picked by another accused and the latter answered all of Rekhani’s queries.
Few days back, all the 13 culprits visited Rekhani’s home to finalise the deal and receive brokerage amount of Rs 2 lakh. However, after they left, the victim suspected foul play and verified the website and the number given on it, again. When he recognised the voice of one of the accused over call, Rekhani realised he was cheated and informed police.
Basing on the complaint, Bargarh SP Prahlad Sahai Meena formed a team to investigate the matter and nabbed all the accused from a hotel. Cash amounting to Rs 1.95 lakh, 23 mobile phones, a car and four laptops among other items were seized from their possession.
Additional superintendent of police (ASP) Tapan Kumar Mohanty said the accused have duped several other people in a similar fashion. “They were produced in court on Sunday. But we will bring them on remand for further investigation,” he added.