Painter duped of Rs 1 lakh, 2 held

A gullible painter’s greed to double his money without any effort came to a naught when a duo, who promised him high returns, made good with his cash. In fact, the conmen gave the painter a bundle of black colour papers that were cut to the size of currency notes and asked him to wash the papers to get the currency.

It was only after the painter came home and washed the black ‘currency notes’ did he realise that he has been taken for a ride. Police said that Palanikumar,29, resident of Uppilipalayam in Arulpuram near Tirupur, lodged a complaint stating that the duo had cheated him of Rs 1 lakh.

Police said Sakthivel (28), a mason from Thiumangalam in Madurai District working at a construction site near Tirupur, and his companion Sundarapandi (28), also of Madurai District, befriended Palanikumar few months ago. They offered to provide him double the amount of the cash he invested with them.

Sakthivel and Sundarapandi said that they would give the currency in black colour and assured him that after washing the black paper he could get the currencies in the denomination of `1,000. Believing them, Palanikumar gave them `1 lakh on June 7 on Madurai Old Bus Stand premises. In return, they gave him a few bundles of black papers. After reaching home, he washed the black papers and was shocked to find that they would yield no currency.

Following complaint, the Tirupur Central Crime Branch (CCB) police registered a case and arrested the duo on Thursday.