Bangalore:
An unidentified conman duped several landowners across the country by placing ads in local newspapers, offering to rent rooftops to install mobile towers for Rs 40,000 per month.
Victims were encouraged to invest in the towers, initially paying anywhere between Rs 50,000 to Rs 4 lakh, with long-term investments yielding about Rs 40 lakh over a period of 15 years.
The company was called Khan Gold K, and even had a website to make the operation seem more legitimate. The building watchman, Mallappah said, "The office has been empty for 20 days now."
Manish John, who travelled from Uttaranchal to Bangalore just to file a complaint, said, "The man called himself Raman. He asked for a photocopy of my property documents. I also gave him a demand draft for Rs 38,000 as the investment amount. He promised to pay Rs 9 lakh over a period of 15 years and Rs 60,000 as rent every month".
PSI K Suresha, SR Nagar police station said, "Since the con man started in January this year, we have no idea how many people have been duped."
He added, "We know now that he is from New Delhi. An arrest will be difficult because we don't have his real name. But an investigation is underway. The commissioner's office has been receiving complaints via email from all over India."
However, Bangalore city commissioner, Shankar Bidari refused to comment on the case and about the incoming emails. "There are 500 people working in this office, how am I to know what emails are sent?", he said.