Indian authorities have exposed persistent scams involving fabricated claims of radioactive metals with extraordinary powers, warning the public against falling prey to fraudsters using official-looking documents and false science to deceive victims across the country.
India’s own financial and atomic authorities have spent years puncturing the fantasy behind the so-called rice-puller. In a one-page warning issued on 31 July 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (rbi.org.in) said “unscrupulous persons” were marketing supposed copper-iridium devices that could pull grains of rice; in a 10 March 2021 Lok Sabha reply, the Department of Atomic Energy said items seized in such cases and sent to Bhabha Atomic Research Centre were, “in all cases”, “devoid of radioactivity.” (pib.gov.in)
What keeps the racket alive is not a proven material but a persuasive storyline. Sellers borrow the language of science, speak of atomic power, rare alloys and overseas buyers, then wrap the pitch in official-looking seals and letters. The RBI said the deception had gone so far that fraudsters were misusing government securities auction circulars and notifications as supposed proof that the central bank was arranging funds for the deal. (rbi.org.in) In Parliament, replying to unstarred question No. 2555 from Bhagwanth Khuba and Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangare, minister Jitendra Singh said the atomic department and BARC receive alerts about such transactions “very frequently” and now flag the pattern in public-awareness work and training on radiation emergencies. (sansad.in)
The official description of the con is strikingly consistent. According to the parliamentary reply carried by the Press Information Bureau (pib.gov.in), fraudsters persuade businessmen and other targets that the material is radioactive and has “magical powers to increase the fortune”. They then present manipulated papers said to be from BARC or the Department of Atomic Energy. That matters because the paperwork, not the metal, is often what gives the scheme its air of legitimacy.
Police cases reported over the past few years show how that borrowed authority is turned into cash. The Indian Express reported (indianexpress.com) that two brothers from Sus Gaon in Pune were allegedly cheated of Rs 49 lakh in a case investigated by Hinjewadi police. They were told an exceptionally valuable metal was needed by NASA and were promised Rs 500 crore from the supposed sale of material valued at Rs 5,000 crore. To clinch the story, police said, the suspects used forged documents, letters and certificates carrying the names of the Delhi government, BARC and the RBI, complete with fake letterheads and seals. (indianexpress.com)
That Maharashtra investigation also points to the scale these operations can reach. The same Indian Express report (indianexpress.com) said police arrested Robert Ubaldo Rosario, a suspended Government Railway Police sub-inspector, after earlier arrests of Sonali Jadhav, Pooja Garud, Sangeeta Nagarkar, Mehul Gandhi and Satish Mukerkar. Senior Inspector Vivek Muglikar said the preliminary inquiry suggested Rosario had cheated about 200 people in Maharashtra of several crores by claiming the metal was required by NASA, while investigating officer Ajitkumar Khatal said many had lost their “savings and hard-earned money”. (indianexpress.com)
A Bengaluru case reported by the Indian Express (indianexpress.com) showed a slightly different variation on the same script. Syed Saleem, a 34-year-old businessman from Gurappanapalya, told Tilaknagar police he was induced to part with Rs 3.5 crore for what he was told was only a testing expense. The accused allegedly said agencies such as NASA would pay astronomical sums for the device, but first they needed specially designed anti-radiation suits and other equipment from defence research organisations. Saleem said he first deposited nearly Rs 2 crore and later paid another Rs 1.5 crore in instalments before the callers vanished; a senior officer told the newspaper bank transactions had been checked and the incident confirmed. (indianexpress.com)
In Delhi, The Times of India reported (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) that a south Delhi realtor, Jaheed Ali, lost Rs 39 lakh after being drawn into a deal involving an alleged American company, Rehan Metal USA, said to have opened a branch in Karol Bagh. Ali was offered what he was told was a Rs 5-crore metal at a discount and informed that atomic energy firms would pay around Rs 10 crore for it. The paper said one gang member posed as an atomic-firm official, and that such groups sometimes deploy another associate as a rival bidder in order to drive up the apparent value. Ali, according to the report, sold a floor in his building to raise the cash; the newspaper added that other victims, including a Lajpat Nagar businessman said to have lost about Rs 1 crore, may also have been taken in. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
Taken together, the warnings from the RBI and the atomic establishment, and the police files described by Indian newspapers, point to a durable fraud model rather than a hidden scientific breakthrough. The authorities’ advice has been blunt. The RBI told the public not to “fall prey” to such claims and warned of “direct financial losses”, while the Department of Atomic Energy said people who encounter these pitches should bring them to law-enforcement agencies. (rbi.org.in) The recurring details in Pune, Bengaluru and Delhi suggest why: the promised fortune is always just ahead, the proof is always somebody else’s letterhead, and the money demanded is always needed now. (indianexpress.com)
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
