Nagpur: A Nagpur based charcoal trader was allegedly duped of Rs 48 over a period of two years by a gang of four interstate fraudsters, who claimed to be the owner of leading steel manufacturer Action Ispat and Power Pvt Ltd in Jharsuguda, Orissa. The gang, headed by a father-son duo, imported wood charcoal from complainant Shivjagdish Gupta’s (42) PBB Mineral and Metals firm. The fraud is being investigated by Hudkeshwar police.
Cops said Gupta was introduced to the gang in charge Naresh Agrawal and his son Navneet Kumar by an unidentified mediator in February 2015. Later, a deal was finalized between the complainant, supplier, and the accused. According to Gupta, Agrawals promptly cleared payments till October 2015. But then they started dilly-dallying the process. However, they continued the procurement of charcoal from Gupta, cops added.
The other two gang members, chief executive officer AK Goel and purchasing officer SS Guiya dealt with the complainant. “Agrawals procured 200 ton of charcoal on February 14 this year. They are yet to clear the last bills, worth Rs32lakh,” said API AN Ghorke. As the last payment was due, Gupta exported only 100 ton charcoal, worth Rs16,09,018. However, the Agrawals pressurized him to send the pending consignment and ignored the unpaid bills.
Later, Gupta travelled to Jharsuguda and discovered that the tricksters had shut the company and fled, Ghorke added.
After some inquiries, Gupta learnt that the tricksters’ modus operandi and recovered their Delhi address. He then went to their Delhi head office in Pritampura and confronted the goons. The tricksters threatened him of dire consequences if he demanded the payments, Ghorke said.
