Lucknow, May 21 -- A gang of fraudsters from Jharkhand, operating under the guise of exchanging old utensils for new ones, and duping several rural women of their jewellery, was busted by Mohanlalganj police here on Tuesday. The police arrested five gang mebmers, including a woman who is suspected to be the alleged mastermind. "The gang operated in a well planned manner and targeted unsuspecting villagers across multiple districts. The gang members used to trap gullible victims while promising them to upgrade their household items," said police. The matter came to light after a woman Neelam from Shivdhara village reported that on May 1, a woman visited her and others in the village offering new utensils in exchange for old ones. "After building trust over repeated visits, the woman returned with a lucrative offer of handing over old jewellery and cash in return for upgraded ornaments and money from her company," said ACP Mohanlalganj Rajneesh Verma. "Several women, including Neelam, fell for the scheme and gave away their jewellery and Rs 5,000 each to the accused. However, the woman never returned. Post this incident, an FIR was registered under Section 316(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Mohanlalganj police station," the ACP added. "Following the complaint, police teams launched a manhunt, and on May 20 arrested five accused from near Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalaya on Nagram Nilmatha Road. The accused were identified as Vinodmal Pahadi, 45, from Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, Sehavan Malhar, 19, of Chatra in Jharkhand, Mithilesh Malhar, 30, of Giridih, Jharkhand, Karu Malhar, 35, of Hazaribagh, Jharkhand and Pyari Devi, 40, the alleged mastermind," stated a press note shared by Lucknow Police. Explaining the modus operandi the ACP said that police revealed that Pyari Devi would scout villages and gain the confidence of women by first exchanging new utensils for old ones. She later proposed to return new jewellery in exchange for their old silver and gold items along with cash. Once in possession of the valuables, she and her accomplices would flee and target another district. According to police, the gang committed similar scams in Rae Bareli, Amethi, Unnao, and Kanpur and police recovered some jewellery and Rs.5,900 cash from their possession....