DIMAPUR, July 2 � In what has now become an oft repeated tale, another case has emerged of a number of gullible Nagas being duped of huge sums of money by a fraudster.
The protagonist in this case is said to be a conman named Abu Sayeed, reported to be originally from Bangladesh but married to an Assamese and a resident of Gogamukh in Dhemaji district in Assam. According to a victim of the cheat, at least Rs 50 crore belonging to several Nagas may have been siphoned off by the fraudster with false promises.
The Naga lady victim, who did not wish to be named but suffered losses of over Rs 6 lakh, said she had been drawn deep into the scam after her first deposit of the relatively small amount of Rs 5,000 was doubled to Rs 10,000.
She said she was given a demonstration whereby a piece of paper (the size of a money note), along with a real money note, was immersed in bubbling water. He claimed that the water was mixed with chemicals to turn the ordinary paper into money.
Following the first deposit and doubled return, the victim said the conman, started demanding bigger amounts stating that the magic won�t work if the amount is too small. She, along with her friends who were shown the same �trick�, repeatedly took various amounts of money to different places like Jorhat and Sibsagar as directed.
Earlier on, they were warned to open their sealed packages supposedly containing doubled returns only after they reached home. There were obviously no doubled returns or even the original amount. But exhibiting the sheer incredible foolishness that has led many a Naga down the path of huge financial loss and debt, the �investors� continued to go back to the conman with more and more money in the hope of recovering their �investments�.
The victim, who has apparently learnt her lesson albeit a little too late, said she has taken some pains to find out the whereabouts of the conman, which is how she has some details in hand and felt it necessary to caution other Nagas who may come across the man. She said Abu Sayeed uses the mobile number 09678599066.
She also expressed concern that many Nagas, reportedly including Ministers� Personal Secretaries and Assistants, are falling victim to the fraudster. Talking about her own experience, she said she had truly believed the claims of doubled returns for which she had taken heavy loans from others in order to invest in it.
