<p>A 22-member group lured a 34-year-old businessman, saying they have a rice-pulling equipment that could be sold to the US space agency NASA and took Rs 3.5 crore from him.</p>.<p>They told him the equipment could be sold to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for a higher profit, but need to rent suits and other tools from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to test the equipment.</p>.<p>The businessman, Syed Saleem, a resident of Gurappanapalya in BG Road, has lodged a cheating complaint with the police. He said in the complaint that the accused approached him with a business proposition and made him believe they have a rice-pulling equipment that could be sold to NASA.</p>.<p>The accused wanted Rs 3.5 crore from Saleem to rent out specially designed anti-radiation suits and other devices from DRDO to demonstrate the rice-pulling equipment to him. Saleem initially deposited nearly Rs 2 crore and gave Rs 1.5 crore in installments on several occasions between January 1, 2017 and October 14 this year.</p>.<p>Saleem realised he had been duped when all the accused stopped answering his calls from October 13 and some of them disappeared.</p>.<p class="CrossHead Rag">Suspicious story: Cops</p>.<p>The Tilak Nagar police found the incident odd since no businessman would pay Rs 3.5 crore without checking the equipment. They, however, checked the bank transactions and confirmed that Saleem was telling the truth. “We’ve taken up the case and efforts are on to track down the accused,” a police officer said.</p>
<p>A 22-member group lured a 34-year-old businessman, saying they have a rice-pulling equipment that could be sold to the US space agency NASA and took Rs 3.5 crore from him.</p>.<p>They told him the equipment could be sold to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for a higher profit, but need to rent suits and other tools from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to test the equipment.</p>.<p>The businessman, Syed Saleem, a resident of Gurappanapalya in BG Road, has lodged a cheating complaint with the police. He said in the complaint that the accused approached him with a business proposition and made him believe they have a rice-pulling equipment that could be sold to NASA.</p>.<p>The accused wanted Rs 3.5 crore from Saleem to rent out specially designed anti-radiation suits and other devices from DRDO to demonstrate the rice-pulling equipment to him. Saleem initially deposited nearly Rs 2 crore and gave Rs 1.5 crore in installments on several occasions between January 1, 2017 and October 14 this year.</p>.<p>Saleem realised he had been duped when all the accused stopped answering his calls from October 13 and some of them disappeared.</p>.<p class="CrossHead Rag">Suspicious story: Cops</p>.<p>The Tilak Nagar police found the incident odd since no businessman would pay Rs 3.5 crore without checking the equipment. They, however, checked the bank transactions and confirmed that Saleem was telling the truth. “We’ve taken up the case and efforts are on to track down the accused,” a police officer said.</p>
