Chennai, Feb 4 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu police have commenced investigation into an Iridium scam in which some people were allegedly luring the public that if Rs 5 lakh is invested in an Iridium project, they would get returns of up to Rs 3 crore in a period of two years.

In a video message, Director General of Police, C. Sylendrababu, has appealed to the public that this is a scam and that people should not invest money in this project.

Sources in the police told IANS that in several parts of Tamil Nadu, especially in Kanniyakumari, Nagercoil and Coimbatore areas, people were being cheated through the Iridium scam. The police have commenced an investigation to nab the kingpins behind such a proposal.

It is to be noted that many people from neighbouring Kerala and Karnataka are brought to Tamil Nadu with touts convincing them that Iridium worth hundreds of crores of rupees is stored deep in the forest areas. Just to have a glimpse of the Iridium, lakhs of rupees are charged and once the person is hoodwinked, he is taken deep into the forests and then beaten black and blue, with some even losing their lives in the attacks.

The police have been regularly warning people against such scams and the video message of the DGP is intended to make people aware of the Iridium scam.

Iridium is a chemical element which is a very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum group. It is considered the second-densest naturally occurring metal.