Nabarangpur /Dabugam: Two persons have been detained for allegedly selling a fake gold conch to a youth of Puri district and duping him of Rs 3 lakh.
The matter came to the fore after the victim lodged a complaint at Dabugam police station. The accused were identified as Sanasai Goud of Kailari village and Raghu Bhatra of Chatiguda village under Dabugam police station limits in Nabarangpur district.
According to a complaint lodged by Mithun Behera, 26, a resident of Balidia under Astaranga police station limits in Puri district, the accused duo was working under a contractor in Bhubaneswar where his younger brother Bikash Behera was also working. During a conversation with Bikash, accused Sanasai claimed that he could acquire a “golden conch” from his village cheaper. Following this Mithun met Sanasai to strike a deal.
On December 11, Sanasai brought them to Dabugam and took them to the nearest jungle, 7-km away from the village, where he showed them the “golden conch” priced at Rs 3 lakh. He even drilled a portion and collected the dust to get it tested. After that Mithun went home and found that the dust particles were pure gold.
Lured by the offer, they again reached Dabugam December 20 with his friend Ranjan Behera and bought the conch by paying Rs 3 lakh. However, the accused tactfully handed them a conch made of brass.
After that Mithun and his friend returned to Bhubaneswar. Upon testing the “gold conch”, they found that it was a fake one made of brass. Then, they immediately called the accused Sanasai over phone to get back their money. But the accused did not take his call.
Notably, earlier two similar cases of cheating were busted by Dabugam police and this is the third such case.
Registering a fraud case police seized the fake gold conch and detained two accused in this connection.