Customers duped by fraud company rise to 358

(1) Items confiscated from a store located at Burma Camp in Dimapur . The items were mostly household items worth around Rs 1.5 lakhs. (2) Trade License issued by the Dimapur Municipal Council to a fraud company. (3) A Registration Certificate under Nagaland  VAT Rules 2005 issued by the Assistant Commissioner of Tax. (4) One of the lists that has particulars of articles seized by the Dimapur police.

DIMAPUR, AUGUST 3 (MExN): The total number of people duped by a fraud company ‘M/s Sri Komal Traders’ has risen to 358. According to East Police Station, Dimapur, a total of 358 FIRs were lodged against the company and its proprietor said to be one Thangaraj, till Wednesday, August 3. The swindled amount stands at a whopping Rs. 16, 05219.
Police today impounded a number of items from the store which is located at Burma Camp, near Bible Society of India office. The seized items which consisted mostly of household amenities ranged from furniture and its accessories, refrigerator, washing machine, DVD player etc. It was estimated to be worth around Rs. 1.5 lakh. 
The fraud came to light on July 31 when the so called proprietor of the firm known only as Thangaraj disappeared. It had opened on July 6 last. The firm offered tantalizing discounts of 40-50 percent on every item ordered on the condition that the buyers must advance the full amount of the item purchased. It promised to deliver the item ordered after 15 days. It never materialized, however.
It won the trust of the unsuspecting customers by producing the requisite trade clearance from the authorities in concern. The police today produced ‘Nagaland VAT Rules 2005’ registration certificate and trade license purportedly issued by the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Taxes and the Dimapur Municipal Council respectively. The authenticity of the certificates is yet to be verified.  
The police also denied issuing ‘NOC’ by the East PS to the firm stating the clearance certificates produced by the firm were not procured through the proper channels. East PS said that for a business firm wishing to do trade in the town must approach the municipal authorities who will in turn forward the application to the police for verification. The police in turn must verify from the concerned police station from where the firm or company originated. Only when it is confirmed that it is genuine and has no criminal records, the police will issue ‘NOC’ and then refer the same to the municipal authority. In this case none of these was followed, East PS said. How the said bogus firm obtained the clearance papers is still a mystery.