Daijiworld News Network - Udupi/Padubidri (GA)
Udupi, Apr 22: A person belonging to a nomadic tribe has been arrested by Bhatkal rural police for mortgaging rolled gold for Rs 2.8 lac at Vinayak Jewellery at Padubidri near here on Friday April 21.
The accused Raju alias Suraj had mortgaged 500 grams of rolled gold at Vinayak jewerllers at Padubidri on December 20, 2005.
Raju used to come for weekly market at Padubidri on every Tuesdays along with his mother. During their visits they used to buy small gold ornaments from Vinayak jewellers owned by Satish Acharya. Having known them for long, Satish too had built up a good rapport with them.
Meanwhile, once Raju called Satish on his cell and asked him lend him money for some gold ornaments which he had found in his field. But Satish rejected the offer. However, Raju kept on pressing him to buy ornaments and lend him money, since he was in need of money for his daughter's marriage. One fine day, he directly brought the ornaments along with him and gave them to Satish.
Satish pulled out a chain from the ornaments and checked it on computer to establish its originality. On the other hand Raju demanded him to lend him Rs 3 lac for 500 grams of gold.
Finally Satish obliged and collected Rs 2 lac from his relatives and friends and lent a total of Rs 2.8 lac to Raju. Raju in turn promised him to redeem the gold soon.
However, Raju did not turn up in the subsequent months. This gave rise to suspicion and Satish checked the gold once again. For his shock he found out that the gold was rolled gold.
Having come to know that he had been duped, he went to Shirali near Bhatkal from where Raju had called him up on his cell phone. There he came to know that Raju belonged to a nomadic tribe and had left the place along ago. However, Satish gave his cell number with one of relatives and told them to inform him when Raju comes back to Shirali.
Accordingly, on Thursday April 20, he received a message that Raju had once again come back to Shirali. So he went to Shirali along with his friends and with the help Bhatkal rural police arrested Raju.