Rajasthan fraudsters pose as Unani healers, dupe Kolkata man of Rs 2.4 lakh with fake skin pigmentation cure

KOLKATA: A gang of fraudsters from Rajasthan, who claimed to be Unani practitioners, allegedly duped a senior citizen, Kailash Kr Agarwal (66), of Middleton Row of Rs 2.4 lakh on the pretext of healing his wife of skin pigmentation. Kolkata Police has arrested one person, Md Salam (65) — a resident of Kota in Rajasthan — in this regard. The accused had been sent to a week's police custody on Saturday by a local court. Cops are on the lookout for his aides.
The gang targeted affluent senior citizens at public places, promising them guaranteed healing from various physical ailments, cops said. As part of their modus operandi, often a well-dressed and articulate person from the gang would approach the victim and connect him or her to a ‘doctor', who would ultimately con them (victims).
Officers of Shakespeare Sarani PS claimed a similar modus operandi was used for duping Kailash. According to the complaint lodged by Kailash on Friday, one Rahul Agarwal approached his wife at Landsdowne market on Jan 17. Rahul claimed that a Parsee ‘doctor' — Dr Jerriwala — could cure the pigmented skin of Kailash's wife', the complainant alleged.
"Kailash's wife had contacted the person, who came to their residence on Jan 18. He showed his identity and visiting cards. He started treatment by drawing blood from the pigmented area," a senior cop said. The conman allegedly claimed that the "dirty white blood" needed to be taken out. He also claimed that the patient would see the difference in 4 to 5 days but no visible change was noticed even after 10 days of the procedure. Growing suspicious, the couple researched about the treatment only to find that it was a scam. Kailash then approached cops.