Friday, 12 July 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The police on Thursday arrested a gang of four Nepalese including a woman on charges of stealing money from people by intoxicating their food. They only targeted Nepalese as it made it easier for them to scam them to gain their trust before stealing their money, the Dehradun senior superintendent of police Ajai Singh said. He said that a man named Dharmaraj Malla said that he was sitting outside the old railway station in Rishikesh on July 8 to go to his home in Nepal when four people of Nepali origin including a woman came to him and started a conversation with him. They introduced themselves as Jamuna Devi, Sadanand, Puran Singh, Gagan Bahadur Shahi. They told him that they also live in Nepal and are going back too. They gained his trust and took him to a Dhaba nearby and while he was eating, they allegedly mixed something in the food after which he fell unconscious. He claimed that when he gained consciousness later, his money was stolen. The SSP said that the police registered an FIR and started an investigation. The police obtained the description of the suspects from the footage of CCTV cameras installed around the incident site. The police arrested the four accused from near the old railway station in Rishikesh, who were roaming around to scam another person, Singh claimed. He stated that the arrested accused were identified as Jamuna Devi (33), Sadanand Dhamala (38), Puran Singh (40) and Gagan Bahadur Shahi (33). They told the police that they used to work as daily wage labourers in Rishikesh and other districts of Garhwal. They said that they knew that during the pilgrimage season, the people of Nepali origin who take tourists to different Dhams, come to Rishikesh and other nearby places to return to Nepal as soon as the rainy season starts. They often have loads of money earned during the tourist season considering which they started targeting them. The SSP said they will be soon presented in court.
