Ashiq Hussain
SRINAGAR, July 24: A ‘home appliance seller’ from Tamil Nadu fled North Kashmir’s Sopore Town on Tuesday after duping hundreds of people, including cops, of their money triggering anger in the town.
Promising heavy discount on Home appliances, a Tamil Nadu shop-owner opened a showroom, M/S Roja Home
Needs, in the town in the last week of June only to be closed by district police for want of “proper verification”, police said. But after high court directions to police not to interfere, the shop owner was allowed to operate his business.
“On Tuesday morning the shop was found closed and the owner had absconded after duping people of their hard earned money,” said a police official of Sopore police station.
“In-fact after court intervention, some of us fell into his trap also to buy some goods for our home. We thought he should be an honest man, especially after the court allowed him to do business,” he said.
Sopore Superintendent of Police, Imtiyaz Ahmad said that they had asked the owner to close the shop till his credentials were verified.
“The tenant verification form of the suspect was accordingly posted to SP Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. But as court rapped us for the move, we were forced to allow him to operate,” he said.
The accused would promise customers home appliances like LCDs, TVs, and Refrigerators etc at heavy discounts. Police revealed that the owner, N Subramanian, resident of Puttukkotai of District Thanjawur in Tamil Nadu delivered branded home appliances to various customers at 50% of the cost by taking money in advance from them.
“He collected huge amount of money from other prospective customers in advance promising delivery of items in fifteen days,” the SP said.
In the morning when he was found gone and his shop locked, people tried to set ablaze to the building in which the shop was located, which was foiled by police. Police said that the shop in question has clearances from Sales Tax department, Municipal Council Sopore and other departments as well.
“We have no idea how many people have been duped. We have asked people to file their details in Police station to ascertain the number of people who have been cheated,” Imtiyaz Ahmad said.
(The author is correspondent, Hindustan Times)
