Pune: Two men from Ghaziabad, who are suspected of fleecing techies in Vimannagar, Chandannagar and Kharadi with deals for ‘customs-auctioned laptops and smart phones’ at cheaper rates, landed in custody of the Chandannagar police on Tuesday night.
A magisterial court on Wednesday remanded the suspects, Alauddin Malik (45) and Mohammad Malik (38), in police custody till November 1.
“The duo used to specifically approach IT firm employees in the said areas with attractive offers on ‘customs-auctioned gadgets’. They would even show the gadgets in a bag to the prospective buyer. After getting money from the buyer, they would engage the person in a conversation and replace the bag containing the gadgets with another one that contained stones and glass pieces,” assistant police (API) inspector Gajanan Jadhav of the Chandannagar police told TOI.
Jadhav said, “The two men, using fictitious name and Aadhaar cards, executed a similar modus operandi to dupe software engineer Rahul Patva (38) of Rs 60,000 in Kharadi on October 15, but ran out of luck after the victim reported the matter to us. On Tuesday night, a police patrol team received a tip-off about the two men trying to sell the gadgets at a cheap rate in the same area and rushed there to check. During questioning, the duo admitted to having fleeced Patva and other techies.”
When contacted, Patva told TOI, “The two men approached me outside my residence with an offer to purchase gadgets and I paid them Rs 60,000, but they handed me a bag with stones and glass pieces by diverting my attention, and then fled.”
The duo told police that they reached Pune on October 10 and stayed in a lodge near Pune railway station.
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