The Mumbai Police have arrested five persons for allegedly cheating people by luring them into invest in 'copper irridium', a compound which is supposed to have magical properties.
Scams involving so-called copper irridium metal, also called 'rice-puller' because it is said to attract rice grains, have been reported in various parts of the country in the past.
Acting on a tip-off, Crime Branch sleuths raided a bungalow in suburban Malad on Thursday evening and arrested Vikas Kaneshwar Singh (45), resident of Jharkhand, Kalim Shaikh (38), Biplab Day (47), resident of West Bangal, Sajid Shaikh (47) who hails from Pune and Shivaji Tiwari (32).
The gang allegedly targeted rich people, offering them opportunity to invest in trading of 'copper irridium', which they said has magical properties and therefore has enormous value, said a police official.
For demonstrating 'rice-pulling' test, the potential investors would be charged upto Rs 25 lakh for 'expenses'.
The gang had also set up a website to attract investors, the official said.
Many people paid them to be part of the 'trade', he added.
One of the victims, a Navi Mumbai resident, paid as much as Rs 1.35 crore to get the 'magical' metal, said Chimaji Adhav, senior police inspector of Unit 11 of the Crime Branch.
Another 11 persons, residents of various cities of Maharashtra, were cheated of a total of Rs 65 lakh, he said, adding that further probe was on.
In 2018, the Reserve Bank of India had issued a circular warning that some people were using the RBI's name for promoting this kind of fraud and people should not fall prey to it.
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