Indian man held over gold extraction fraud

By Siraj Khan,Nepalgunj, Dec. 24: The District Police Office Banke has arrested an Indian citizen for defrauding Rs. 20 million by claiming that he could extract gold from the ground.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ayush Prasad Joshi, Spokesperson for the District Police Office, Banke, Sadabuddin Halwai, 42, from Singhpuri, Balarampur, India, was arrested for repeatedly defrauding Nasir Ahmed Behan of Nepalgunj-19 by claiming that there was a significant quantity of gold buried under the ground, which he could extract.

The police acted on a complaint filed by Behan, alleging that Halwai had taken Rs. 20 million from him over time, promising to extract gold from a plot near Mohanpur Brick Kiln in Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City-19.

Halwai was apprehended from the bus park in Nepalgunj-4 and an investigation has commenced following the police securing a four-day remand order, DSP Joshi said.

The police recovered various items from Halwai, including 1,049 yellow coins, three clay pots, three brass pots, a metallic chain, a metallic statue of Lord Ganesh, over 600 stones of different shapes and sizes, three metallic boxes, a book written in Urdu, a car with an Indian number plate (UP 32 PP 6110) and bank cheque vouchers from Nepal and India.

The District Police Office, Banke, has urged the public to remain vigilant, cautioning that scammers might use claims of buried gold treasure to deceive people.