Soldier, another arrested for 'magic mirror' fraud

Jaipur, April 23 (IANS) Two men, including an army soldier, were arrested in Rajasthan Monday for duping a property dealer of Rs.60 million on the pretext of selling him a magic mirror, police said.

Police also recovered about Rs.28 million of the money, which had been wrapped in polythene bags and buried in sand dunes by the accused.

The accused, identified as Hukum Singh and Nathu Singh, had duped a Jaipur-based businessman Mohammad Chirag Khan on March 28. Hukum Singh is in the army.

"Hukum Singh and his gang offered Khan a huge mirror claiming that it could show him everything he wants. They claimed that he could know about future, past and present just by looking into the mirror," a police officer told IANS.

The fraudsters claimed that the mirror was ancient and powerful. "Hukum Singh with help of 10 other men showed Khan some images in the mirror which made him believe that their claims were true," said the officer.

Khan withdrew Rs.60 million from a bank in Jaipur and paid Hukum Singh in cash.

"We have arrested Hukum Singh and his brother Nathu Singh while search for 10 others is on. Rs.28 million were recovered in the deserts of Jaisalmer's Sankda area. The mirror had been brought from Kolkata in West Bengal by the fraudsters," said the officer.