Duo cheats businessman into buying seeds to make ‘medicine for AIDS’, gets 3 years in jail

The complainant, Chirag Patel, 34, got an email on January 12, 2016, stating that a pharmacist from a private medicine manufacturing company based in the UK was looking for a business partner in India

A metropolitan magistrate court recently sentenced a Nigerian national and his aide, who cheated a businessman from Gujarat into buying “seeds needed to manufacture medicine for AIDS” worth Rs20.5lakh, to three years in jail.

While the court held Agarwal and Dean guilty, it acquitted Tripathi and Osakuve. (File)

According to public prosecutor Anil Nandgiri, the complainant, Chirag Patel, 34, got an email on January 12, 2016, stating that a pharmacist from a private medicine manufacturing company based in the United Kingdom was looking for a business partner in India. It said the partner could buy the Ayurvedic seeds needed to manufacture the medicine for 460 US dollars and sell them for 2430 dollars and give them 20% commission on each deal.

Patel replied to the email saying he didn’t know where to buy the seeds from, to which he got an email with the phone number of Raodeep Dhanji Boricha alias Nitin Agarwal, 33. Patel met Agarwal and his aide, Shyam Govind Ariban Tripathi alias Pandey, 32, at a hotel in Vile Parle and bought seeds worth Rs31,000 from him.

The prosecution claimed Nigerian national Oman Osakuve alias Manka Peerjyoja, 33, was involved in sending the emails. The fifth accused, Kelvin, said to be the mastermind is still at large.

While the court held Agarwal and Dean guilty, it acquitted Tripathi and Osakuve.