A gardener has duped several Bangaloreans to the tune of almost a crore, masquerading as a PhD, who could protect their crop of coconut trees
A gardener has duped several Bangaloreans to the tune of almost a crore, masquerading as a PhD, who could protect their crop of coconut treesA self-proclaimed 'miracle coconut protector' has finally fallen into the police net.
Manjunath (27) had duped several citizens, claiming to be a PhD in agriculture who could help coconut trees flourish.
Police had received several complaints about an "officer of the Coconut Development Corporation" going around collecting money from residents of south Bangalore.
He had collected Rs 60 lakh from this neighbourhood alone. The J P Nagar police laid a trap and arrested him yesterday. Manjunath alias Mohan used a car and a bike. A native of Madagiri in Tumkur district, he came to Bangalore to work as a gardener.
After doing so for some years, he allegedly hatched a plan to cheat people.
In his confession to the police, Manjunath reportedly said he would visit homes with coconut trees and charge between Rs 1,500 and Rs 60,000 a tree. In exchange, he offered to protect the trees for one to three years.
Manjunath would never return once the transaction was done.
Inspector S K Umesh said, "He has been cheating people for three years, but nobody had ever complained. It was only recently that residents of J P Nagar, duped of more than Rs 1.5 lakh, tipped us off."
Umesh added that Manjunath had collected over Rs 60 lakh from various victims in Bangalore. The police are now investigating his accounts. "We expect to recover more from him," Umesh said.
How'd he do it?Manjunath had mastered the art of convincing people into buying Bio Agri Rich and Neem Majal, which he told them would protect their coconut trees from insects and bugs.
He claimed he could give it to them under a subsidy scheme, but in truth no such scheme existed.
Manjunath knew the easiest targets were senior citizens. "His communication skills are marvellous and he often used photo albums of coconut trees that he apparently protected earlier to convince his victims of his 'knowledge'.
