VITTAL : Bantwal police, as per the direction of Puttur ASP Chandragupta, have arrested two youth from Vittal on the charges of fleecing a jeweller of Maharashtra origin of over Rs 16 lakhs by making the latter believe that they had laid hands into an ancient treasure.
The fraudulent duo have been identified as Shivaram and Satish alias Padmanabha of Vittal. The family of the jeweller named Shashikanth Salunke which had even thought of committing suicide following the cheating, has been saved by the timely intervention of the cops.
It is learnt, the duo taking advantage of the high publicity which a suspected treasure in the historic Devaragadde near the Vittal Aramane, received, had made the jeweller believe that they could lay their hands on the treasure worth crores, and then were successful in getting cash from the jeweller as they pleased.
It is still a surprise how the jeweller could believe the words of the duo who were only after easy money.
In fact the reports that appeared in various dailies that a suspected treasure has been found in a small pit that was located in the Devaragadde, on September 14, 2007, with some burnt agarbattis etc found at the spot, proved a boon to the youth who easily fleeced the gullible jeweller.
Investigations revealed that these youth along with some friends of theirs made merry with the easy cash earned by them and were found in the wine shops in the area till late night, giving room for suspicion. The youth whose financial condition was poor at one time, were later seeing moving around in cars with their source of income remaining a mystery to many.
Initially Shivaram, had availed a loan of Rs 15000 from Salunke saying his father was sick. Then he had produced the newspaper copies in which reports of the treasure had appeared and had fleeced him several times by taking him to various places with his friends.Investigations have now revealed that the duo had even planned to eliminate the jeweller shortly. It has also been gathered that all the money which the duo could get from the jeweller were wiped out in a matter of one year.
While Shivaram owned an STD and xerox centre in Vittal, Satish was engaged in red stone business. Police are on the look out for the other accomplices of the duo.
It is learnt, Shashikanth had shifted from Sangli in Maharashtra to Vittal around 20 years ago and had set up a shop near the Bhagavathi Temple. He had even constructed a house worth Rs 20 lakhs at Kashimutt and was living with his wife and two kids.
It is learnt, the police could zero in on the culprits after Shashikanth recently approached Puttur ASP along with his wife, and explained his sorry tale before the officer who immediately swung into action and directed the Bantwal police to arrest the duo.
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