Currency notes with Anupam Kher picture used to con bullion trader of 2.1 kg gold
Ahmedabad (PTI): In a plot twist that could be the envy of even Bollywood, a bullion trader was duped of 2.1 kgs of gold after unidentified con men handed over counterfeit currency featuring the face of noted actor Anupam Kher.
The transaction at the end left a local bullion trader, Mehul Thakkar, high and dry and duped of 2.1 kgs of gold.
Thakkar filed a complaint with the Navrangpura police station, detailing how he was tricked into accepting 26 bundles of counterfeit Rs 500 notes.
The fake currency, which hilariously bore the misspelled label "Resole Bank of India," was presented to his staff in exchange for 2.1 kgs of gold on September 24.
The saga began when Thakkar, a gold dealer with a penchant for shiny things, received a call from Prashant Patel, the manager of a jewellery shop whom the bullion trader knew.
Patel was eager to buy 2.1 kgs of gold, and after some haggling, they settled on a price of Rs 1.60 crore. Little did Thakkar know, he was about to become the star of a real-life comedy.
On September 24, Thakkar instructed his staff to meet Patel at an 'angadia pedhi' (Hawala) office – a traditional money-moving service.
When they arrived, they were greeted not by the glamorous world of gold trade but by three "gentlemen" who handed over bundles of what they claimed were Rs 500 notes.
The unsuspecting staff was told to count the 'money' using a machine provided by the trio.
Two of them then went out with the gold biscuits on the pretext of fetching the remaining Rs 30 lakh from a neighbouring office, while a third one stayed on.
When the staff sent by Thakkar noticed the currency notes were fake after taking them out from plastic wrap for counting, they questioned the third person, who told them he was there just to deliver the counting machine for 'angadia pedhi', the complainant told the police.
It also later came to light that the angadia office was opened by the accused persons two days before the incident, as per the complaint.
An FIR has since been filed against the two unidentified suspects, and police have launched an investigation to track down the culprits behind this unusual con.
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Assam to lift all cases against Koch Rajbongshis in Foreigners' Tribunals: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
Guwahati, Apr 4 (PTI): The Assam cabinet has decided to lift all cases pending against people from the Koch Rajbongshi community in the Foreigners' Tribunals, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
They will also no longer carry the tag of 'D' or doubtful voters, he said.
''There are 28,000 cases pending in different Foreigners' Tribunals in the state against people of the community. The cabinet has taken a historic decision of lifting the cases with immediate effect,'' Sarma said at a press conference here after the cabinet meeting.
The government believes that the Koch Rajbongshis are an indigenous community of the state and they are an inextricable part of ''our social and cultural fabric'', he asserted.
The people of this community are poor and have suffered a lot over the years, he said.
''They will no longer carry the tag of foreigners or ‘D’ voters,'' the CM said.
Foreigners Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies, particularly in Assam, established to determine if a person residing in India is a "foreigner" as defined by the Foreigners Act of 1946, based on the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order of 1964.
These tribunals are designed to address matters related to citizenship and the presence of “foreigners” in India, specifically focusing on cases where someone is suspected of being an illegal immigrant.
There are 100 Foreigners’ Tribunals across Assam.
The Koch Rajbongshis have a sizeable presence in Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and parts of Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan, and they demand Scheduled Tribe status.
