Kathmandu, July 6

Police arrested five persons on different charges from separate places of Kathmandu yesterday.

Suman Gurung, 29, of Sankhuwasabha district was held from Dhungedhara while defrauding a man of Rs 50,000 on the pretext of exchanging US dollars at a cheaper rate.

According to police, Suman befriended Birkha Bahadur Gurung, 47, of Gorkha district and called him to Dhungedhara in Kathmandu to exchange Nepali currency for US dollars before fleeing with Rs 50,000 by providing him with a bundle of papers cut in the size of dollar bills.

Police said he defrauded unsuspecting persons, including those who had returned from foreign employment, and persuade them to exchange Nepali currency by showing genuine dollar bills on the top and bottom of the paper bundle.

Paper bundles and various suspicious documents have also been seized from the suspect.

Police also revealed that Suman had also cheated Hari Gurung, 47, of Rs 3,000 in the same locality of Dhungedhara, in Kathmandu, on June 15. In a separate operation, police arrested Ashish Naral, 28, of Kavre district with a fake pistol from Thamel. The fake pistol was loaded with six plastic bullets.

Investigating officials said he used the ‘gun’ to terrorise the general public and extort money.

Similarly, police arrested Akshaya Lama, 23, Bishnu Lama, 29, and Buddhiman Tamang, 31, of Kavre district in possession of a musk pod from Jamal.

The trio were looking for prospective client when police apprehended them. Further investigation into the cases are under way, said police.