Cheating racket: Four accused brought to Shillong
SHILLONG: It was greed for money which tempted many people to approach a four- member gang who uses chemicals to convince the unsuspecting customers that currency notes can be converted from bundles of black chemical coated papers even as the gang promised double the amount of money handed over to them by the customers.
A day after four persons, Nirbhay Rabha(30), Samsul Ali (26), both the residents of Boko, Assam, and Jefferson Lakiang (36),Shiela Marbaniang (58),from Shillong were arrested by the police at Pillankata in Ri-Bhoi, the City (SP) Vivek Syiem revealed the modus operandi of the gang on Tuesday.
The four have already been brought to Shillong.
According to Syiem, the racket has been thriving for the last few years by offering cash to people who dreamt about getting double the amount which they paid to the gang.
After police came to know about the cheating racket involving payment of hard cash for converting paper into currency notes by using a certain chemical, a team from the Special Cell was dispatched from Shillong and effected the arrest of the four members of the gang on Monday afternoon at Pillankata.
The modus operandi of gang is that the woman from city Shiela Marbaniang will first find customers or prospective buyers, who are willing to get double the cash converted for half the amount of real cash, using a certain chemical. Later, a demonstration will be held somewhere in Ri-Bhoi district where genuine cash coated with black Iodide solution is exhibited. “The black coated cash is then washed with Sodium Thiosulphate also called Hypo solution which is used in developing negative photographs to make the buyer believe that the chemical is actually converting black paper into cash”, Syiem said
Subsequently, another day is fixed for buying the solution and the buyer is called to come to a place near the Guwahati Airport.
“Once the cash is paid for the solution, and delivered in a bottle, someone who is nearby comes in a bike and hits the bottle whereby all the solution goes wasted”, Syiem said, while adding that the buyers thereby will have no other option to demand money back from the persons in Meghalaya. The arrested persons have admitted that four persons from Nongstoin, Nongpoh, Tinsukia and Arunachal were cheated till date, but no FIR was lodged, Syiem said. The seized items include one green laminated paper where solutions is to be applied for demo, greenish-blue liquid sodium Thiosulphate solution contained in a bottle, seventeen bundles of iodide (coated note) each containing 300 pieces of paper coated with iodide solution in the shape and size of a Rs. 500 note, 12 numbers of Rs 500 real currency notes coated with Iodide solution which was placed above the 17 bundles, eight mobile phones of the accused, one black colour Mahindra XUV (AS-01-BR-0027) and one silver colour Wagon R VXI (AS-01-BP-8346).
A case vide Sadar P.S. C/No. 156(6)16 u/s 120B/420/34 IPC has been registered. Syiem said that a full scale investigation will be carried out to get other people involved in the racket.