New Delhi: Eight years after an antique dealer was allegedly cheated of nearly Rs 9 crore in an elaborate “rice puller” scam, the economic offences wing of Delhi Police has arrested a 53-year-old temple priest from Jaipur, who was part of the gang of cons and had evaded arrest for 12 years.The rice-puller scam is a persistent fraud that has been reported from various parts of India. Cons have cheated people by claiming that certain rare metal vessels or coins can attract grains of rice. Public advisories have also been issued, warning people not to fall for such frauds.In 2014, the antique dealer alleged that four men — Amit Gupta, Rakesh Goel, Ganesh Ingole and Satyanarayan Anoria — along with their associates, had posed as experts linked to reputed Indian and foreign scientific institutions to gain his trust. “They falsely projected themselves as specialists capable of verifying the authenticity and genuineness of rare antique items,” DCP (EOW) Subodh Kumar Goswami said. “They also claimed that only scientists from premier institutions such as BARC, DRDO and archaeological laboratories could conduct the specialised testing and certification required for such artefacts.”Investigators said the antique dealer was told that he would get astronomical returns, running into several crores, if he bought the devices. Convinced by the claims, he allegedly paid nearly Rs 9 crore through cheques, RTGS transfers and cash for the specialised testing, certification fees and other related expenses.The promised scientific testing never happened and no antiques were ever supplied to the dealer. Investigators described the operation as a carefully orchestrated fraud built on false claims and fabricated credentials to attract extraordinary profit.After the dealer’s complaint, the EOW registered a case under Sections 420 (cheating), 419 (cheating by personation) and 120 (criminal conspiracy) of IPC. Anoria, a resident of Shastri Nagar, was declared a proclaimed offender. He repeatedly evaded arrest.After years on the run, an EOW team tracked him down to Jaipur, where he had become a temple priest. An investigation revealed that Anoria had earlier been involved in six similar financial fraud cases, police said.