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India police parade 'Nasa conmen' in space suits | India police parade 'Nasa conmen' in space suits |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Indian police paraded a man and his son in "space suits" before arresting them for allegedly defrauding a businessman by pretending to work for Nasa. | Indian police paraded a man and his son in "space suits" before arresting them for allegedly defrauding a businessman by pretending to work for Nasa. |
The duo allegedly convinced the businessman to buy a copper plate for $213,156 (£157,600), which they claimed had "special properties", police said. | |
They had told him that with his investment, they could sell the plate to the US space agency for a profit. | They had told him that with his investment, they could sell the plate to the US space agency for a profit. |
The men were arrested after the businessman complained to the police. | The men were arrested after the businessman complained to the police. |
The two men have not responded to the charges or commented on their public humiliation, which has caused hilarity on social media. | |
Photos and a video of the father and son, dressed in silver space suits, being escorted by officials have gone viral. | Photos and a video of the father and son, dressed in silver space suits, being escorted by officials have gone viral. |
Police told reporters that they had passed off the metal plate as a "rare piece of copper", which was "struck by thunderbolt" and therefore had the power to pull rice towards it. | |
They had further assured the businessman that the plate, which they called the "Rice Puller", could be sold to Nasa for around $5.5bn (£4.1bn). | |
Police told Indian media that a "rice puller" is a "non-existent thing", but the conmen apparently coated the copper plate with "liquid magnet" and small iron wires to try to fool the victim. |
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