On January 31, Agra Police arrested three persons identified as Haider Ali, Amir, and Furkan Ali for duping a Swiss national at the Taj Mahal. As per reports, Haider Ali owns an emporium at the east gate of the Taj Mahal, Amir is the salesman at his shop and Furkan Ali is a tourist guide. They allegedly sold artifacts to the Swiss national at an inflated cost.
#PoliceCommissionerateAgra#UPPInNews #agrapoliceinnews pic.twitter.com/rjMsMQwbKQ
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE AGRA (@agrapolice) January 30, 2023
The police said in a statement that they sold a box and a marble chess set for Rs 37,500 to Isabel, a citizen of Switzerland, of Switzerland who visited the Taj Mahal on January 29. Assistant Commissioner of Police at Taj Security, Syed Areeb Ahmed said, “During her visit to the Taj Mahal on Sunday, Isabel came in touch with Furkan Ali who persuaded her to shop at a marble and textile emporium located at the eastern gate of the monument. The salesperson, Amir, calculated the price of the selected items as Rs 80,000. After bargaining with the owner, Haider, the items were sold for Rs 37,500.”
She made the payment using her credit card. The items were supposed to be delivered to her address free of charge. While returning to her hotel, she visited another emporium where Isabel found the same artifacts being sold for Rs 4,900. ACP added that Isabel filed a complaint against them at the police station following which an FIR was registered under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). “They have been arrested and video recording of the CCTV camera installed at the shop has been recovered,” he added.
Remembering the famous Natwarlal who sold the Taj Mahal
Conmen around the Taj Mahal have been duping tourists for decades. However, one name stands out as he literally “sold” the monument several times. Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava alias Natwarlal is the most notorious conman in India. He was born in the village Bangra of district Siwan, Bihar, in 1912. Master of disguise, Natwarlal was famous for changing his appearance and duping people of crores of rupees. He was a master in forging the signatures of famous personalities as well.
From Dhirubhai Ambani to Tatas and Birlas, Narwarlal had a high-profile list of victims. His most famous cons included the sale of the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, the Rashtrapati Bhawan, and the Parliament building along with the 545 sitting members. He conned people into donating money while posing as a social worker. Several shopkeepers were duped of lakhs of rupees as he paid them with fake cheques and demand drafts.
Natwarlal had over 100 cases filed against them in eight states. He was sentenced to 113 years in prison. Interestingly, he managed to escape jail eight times in his life. When he was 84 years old and wheelchair-bound, Natwarlal was arrested for the last time. At that age, he managed to fool the police into transporting him to AIIMS hospital from Kanpur Jial.
While his brother claimed he was cremated in 1996, Natwarlal’s lawyers claimed he died on July 25, 2009.
