Where are the dollars? Gang looking for cash, tortures rag-picker's employer

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: In a shocking twist in the tale of a ragpicker, SK Suleman, who had recently found 23 bundles of fake US Dollars (USD) near the railway tracks in the city, an armed gang of four men in search of the dollars, allegedly abducted Suleman's employer on Tuesday night without realising that the cash had been handed over to the city police.

Two men alle gedly barged into a shed where Touhid, also called Bappa, lived in Chiranjeevi Layout of Hebbal and assaulted him demanding that he hand over the money Suleman had found.

Alerted by the noise, Touhid's neighbours came to the rescue but were stopped by two men standing outside his shed. The gang then took Touhid in their car following which neighbours called up activist Kaleemullah R who in turn alerted the police.

The jurisdictional police reached the spot and began investigating but Touhid who was released by the gang, returned to his shed in a few hours. In his statement to the police, Touhid alleged that the gang blindfolded him and took him to a flat.

"They tortured me by asking me to hand over the money. Despite repeatedly telling them that we had handed over the money to the police, they kept beating me," he said.

Touhid claimed the gang took his mobile phone and checked the messages.

"They again blindfolded me and left me at a location in the early hours today with a warning that if I inform the police, they will come after me," he said.

According to Hebbal police, the currency bills are fake and are part of a scam. Footage from the CCTV installed around the areas are being scanned to ascertain the identity of the armed assailants. A probe is underway.

Most of the rag-pickers, including Suleman, hail from West Bengal. It all started on November 3, when Suleman found a plastic bag containing chemical-laced bundles of USD 3 million near Nagawara Railway Station in Bengaluru following which Kaleemullah helped him hand over the money to the police.

The currency notes were later handed over to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).