Bhatkal: As the saying goes, “A believer is not stung from the same hole twice.” Yet, it seems that residents of the educated and aware town of Bhatkal continue to fall prey to fraudulent schemes promising easy money or Ponzi-style offers. Once again, fraudsters have managed to win people’s trust, collect lakhs of rupees, and flee without a trace.
The latest case came to light on Wednesday, when a shop named “Global Enterprises” allegedly cheated hundreds of customers by offering household furniture, mobile phones, and electronic goods at half price, promising to deliver them within 10–15 days. After receiving large sums of money in advance, the shop owner vanished with the cash.
According to affected people, the owner first built trust among customers by initially delivering goods to a few early buyers at half the price. Once that trust was established, he collected advance payments from hundreds of customers and then shut the shop overnight before disappearing.
The shop, located near Marikatta on Car Street, was set up by Uday Kumar Rengaraju along with his two associates, all natives of Tamil Nadu. For nearly 25 days, he had been executing a well-planned scam by hiring six local youths — both boys and girls — and promoting his business by advertising “10 to 40 percent discount” offers compared to market rates.
Initially, a few customers who made full cash payments in advance received products such as refrigerators, TVs, and air-conditioners within four days. Encouraged by this, the accused began distributing pamphlets door to door with more attractive offers, luring a large number of residents.
Within a short span, hundreds of people were trapped. Many paid advances of up to ₹1 lakh for various products, and the shop owner assured his customers that the booked goods would be delivered after ten days. However, on Wednesday morning, they were shocked to find the shop closed. Angry customers tried to break open the shutter and seize whatever goods were inside, but Police Inspector Diwakar and his team reached the spot in time. The officer advised the public to file individual complaints at the police station so that legal action could be initiated.
One of the victims said, “I first saw the pamphlet and bought a refrigerator. I received it within four days, so I believed him. Then I gave an advance of one lakh rupees for five more items, but now the shop is locked and the owner is missing. There are hundreds like me who have been cheated.” According to several other customers, the fraudster collected various amounts — from ₹400 to ₹1 lakh — from each buyer as advance payments.
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Interestingly, a local trader named Sanaullah Gawai, who owns a shop opposite the accused store, had already filed a complaint at the town police station last month. In his complaint, he had warned that a man from Tamil Nadu was misleading the public under the pretext of selling goods at half price. He stated that the accused was taking full advance payments with false promises of delivery within two weeks, and that the rates displayed were unrealistic and clearly fraudulent. Speaking to the media, Sanaullah said, “From his offers alone, it was clear that he was planning to commit a major fraud and run away.”
After Sanaullah’s statement surfaced, residents began questioning whether the police had taken any preventive action after receiving the initial complaint. They are asking: If the police already had information about the shop and its owner, why wasn’t he stopped in time? And now, will the police be able to arrest him and recover the victims’ money?
Following the revelations, District Superintendent of Police (SP) Mr. Deepan told reporters in Karwar that a case has been registered against the shop owner at the Bhatkal Police Station under charges of cheating and fraud.
According to him, by Wednesday evening, as many as 180 victims had approached the police to file complaints, and preliminary reports suggest that the accused collected around ₹14 lakh in advance payments. The SP urged other victims to come forward and lodge complaints so that the investigation could proceed swiftly.
According to local sources, hundreds more victims have not yet filed their complaints. Residents estimate that the total amount duped could be anywhere between ₹50 lakh and ₹1 crore.
It now remains to be seen how seriously the police pursue this case and whether they succeed in tracking down the fraudster who escaped after duping the public with false promises.