Armed with Kargil soil, fraudster strikes gold

Can the soil of Kargil be converted into gold? A Jaipur-based trader has literally paid for being gullible to this extent.

Chhitar Mal, 47, who runs a utensils shop in the walled city area, complained to the police on Saturday that a person by the name Rajeev Choudhary took Rs. 5 lakh from him in exchange for 5 kg of soil that he said was from Kargil and which could be converted into gold by some secret method.

Choudhary said he was a cattle trader from Rohtak.

"In December last year, Choudhary brought some soil which was supposedly from the Kargil valley. He told me 'Kargil ki mitti sona ban jati hai' (soil from Kargil converts into gold). He even converted 100 gm of soil into gold before me and promised me to bring more soil. On December 24, 2011, he brought the 5 kg of soil, for which I paid him Rs. 5 lakh,” Chhitar Mal said in his complaint.

After Choudhary left with the money, the trader discovered he had been cheated.

Sub-inspector Durg Singh said the family did not have Choudhary’s address or phone number.

"When I asked Chhitar Mal to show the 100 gm of converted gold, he said Choudhary took the sample with him. Initial investigations show he has been duped but problem is that there is no address or contact number of the accused. We are trying to gather clues," Singh said.