A latest demonstration in Kashmir heartland declared how a man duped dozens of their hard-earned money and ended up becoming Kashmir’s sensational swindler.
ON a balmy summer day in Srinagar, black and white bearded men with battered body language arrived in press enclave to narrate Kashmir’s new “Ponzi scheme” — leaving most of them broke and bankrupt overnight.
One of them lamented that he lost crores to a “conman” operating some “extreme” outlet in city outskirts. Another narrated his riches to rags story. While most regretted being swindled by a ‘sleight of hand’—allegedly known for some ‘powerful connections’.
The utter shock of being taken for a ride by a conman had brought these swarms of men from six districts together in the heart of the capital city on May 31, 2022, leaving everyone flummoxed around them.
“The conman named Mohammad Shafi from Budgam had taken an amount of Rs. 1 crore and 17 lakhs from me in lieu of a fake electric vehicle showroom’s dealership,” Manzoor Bhat, a perplexed protestor, told Kashmir Observer. “I was given a dealership for three districts including Budgam, Pulwama and Srinagar. The conman then took us along with him to Jammu for a fake inauguration ceremony. After three days of futile wait, he took us to Delhi’s Victory Brand factory, where his gang garlanded us. However, a week after the inauguration, we realised that the 52 gifted keys, flats in Jammu and the dealership was all…
