MP News: Cyber Fraudster Posing As Potato Trader Looted Of ₹22 Lakh; 7 Arrested After SP Cracks Case Initially Declared Fake

Morena (Madhya Pradesh): A robbery in Madhya Pradesh's More, which was initially declared fake by the ASP, took a dramatic turn after 6 days, when the Superintendent of Police confirmed that the robbery had indeed taken place and the case was solved.

Earlier on January 22, a supposed potato trader was looted after armed robbers stopped his taxi, threw chili powder in the driver’s eyes, and fled with the cash-filled bag near Sikroda Canal. Initially the entire case was declared fake by Additional Superintendent of Police Surendra Pal Singh Dabar, and the trader himself was made the accused.

However, just 6 days after the incident, Superintendent of Police Sameer Saurabh held a press conference in the SP office's press conference hall and confirmed the robbery and stated an operation was conducted to nab the accused.

According to the SP, a total of 7 accused, including a travel agency owner and driver from Guna, have been arrested. The police claim to have recovered Rs. 18.50 lakh in cash from the possession of the accused. Police teams are conducting raids in search of other absconding accused.

Potato trader turns cyber fraudster

SP Sameer Saurabh confirmed that during the investigation of the robbery, the police found a dozen ATM cards and mobile phones with the complainant Aman and his friend. As the investigation progressed, it was revealed that the complainant was not a potato trader but a cyber fraudster. The victim was accused has many cyber fraud cases registered against them in Uttar Pradesh and have also served jail time.

However the SP said that no transactions were found with any potato trader or farmer. The police suspect that the looted money may be related to money laundering or hawala (illegal money transfer). Now the police are also investigating the complainant from the angle of cyber fraud.

300 CCTV cameras scanned

Among the 7 arrested accused, one accused, Gaurav Sharma, is a priest of the famous ancient Hanuman Tekri temple in Guna. The looted money was also recovered from him.

To avoid suspicion, the accused had also bought coriander powder along with chili powder from a grocery store in Shivpuri. The police rounded up the accused after scanning more than 300 CCTV cameras from Guna to Morena.