cheating people promising ‘Nagamanickam’

Three members, including the leader of an eight-member gang that was fleecing gullible customers promising them ‘Nagamanickam,’ a mythological pearl believed to be found on the hood of cobras, have been arrested by the Alappuzha police from Santhanpara in Idukki district.

The gang used small pieces of plastic tooth brushes, polished into the shape of wheat grains, to create Nagamanickam.

Fleeced several


Presenting the trio before the media here on Friday, Superintendent of Police A. Akbar said the gang, led by Murugan, 37, of Santhanpara, had cheated various persons to the tune of Rs.6 lakh in the last one year alone, while they had been in the business for several years now.

Explaining the modus operandi of the gang, Mr. Akbar said the accused would approach well-to-do people, promising them the mythological pearl, which is believed by many to bring prosperity and to keep away diseases. The gang said they procured these pearls from tribal settlements near forest areas of Tamil Nadu, mostly a few places near Ambasamudram taluk.

Murugan used to take customers to the forest area, where his accomplices, dressed up as tribals, would be waiting with Nagamanickam.

Murugan even used to convince the customer that the stone was real by showing a red shining light on the stone, which in reality was created by a hidden accomplice standing around 30 feet away, using a remote hand-held laser device.

Following a complaint from a resident in Alappuzha, Mr. Akbar sent men from his Crime Squad and the Alappuzha South police to Santhanpara, where they posed as prospective buyers to trap Murugan and his gang.

There are about five such gangs operating from Santhanpara and the nearby Poopara, Mr. Akbar said, adding that Murugan, who was once a car mechanic, now owned five jeeps, a car and a mini-bus apart from several acres of cardamom plantation.

The three arrested, including Kumar, 30, and Bose, 35, both from Santhanpara, were remanded by the Alappuzha First Class Judicial Magistrate.