Chittoor police arrest inter-state gang involved in rice-pulling and recover Rs 1.29 crore

TIRUPATI: In a major bust, Chittoor district police wing arrested an eight-member inter-state gang who duped a Tamil Nadu man of Rs 2.10 crore, under the pretext of procuring him a rice puller vessel, and decamped with the cash near Kuppam in Chittoor district in December, 2019.
A rice pulling metal has magical powers of 'pulling' rice towards itself with radiation properties, and so these metals are valued at high prices.Rice-pulling properties are generally found in items made out of copper and iridium such as coins, vessels, tumblers, jewellery etc. They are usually found in rural areas and are usually buried under the surface of the earth.
Addressing a press conference at Chittoor, additional SP Krishnarjuna Rao told reporters that a con gang had approached one Naveen Kumar of Tirupattur in Tamil Nadu with a promise of a rice puller vessel that had powers to trace treasures.
"Naveen Kumar who fell into their trap had arranged Rs 2.10 crore to buy the vessel and the cash was given away to the gang near Gudupalle in Kuppam constituency. Though the cash was received, the gang did not procure the vessel as promised, following which Naveen Kumar lodged a complaint with the Kuppam police and a case was registered at the Gudupalle police station," the additional SP added.
Meanwhile, the district police wing who stepped up vigil along the tri-state borders and were conducting vehicular checking noticed a group of vehicles moving around suspiciously near the Peddavanka bridge on the outskirts of Gudupalle in the early hours on Tuesday.
After being able to bring the vehicles to a grinding halt, police arrested 8 persons identified as R Mahadeva, S Gangadhar, V Ramachandra Naidu, M Siva Kumar, VB Seenappa, N Dhanasekhar, S Vinayagam and E Sekhar belonging to different parts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Police recovered Rs 1.29 crore cash in different denominations, two cars, a bike and a rice pulling bowl packed box from the possession of the accused.
Additional SP Krishnarjuna Rao said one more person was still absconding and special teams formed were in the process of arresting him soon.
Chittoor SP S Senthil Kumar appreciated the special teams led by Palamaner DSP Arifulla, inspectors Krishna Mohan and Rama Krishnamachari who could crack the case in a quick span of time besides recovering large quantities of cash from the possession of the accused.