Knife swallowing fraudster captured

Prosecutors say an Indian businessman spent years evading authorities around the world, fleeing accusations he'd run elaborate bank scams.

When he lost an appeal in Germany against extradition to India, he came up with a novel scheme: he swallowed a knife. For four years, Amarendra Nath Ghosh refused surgery to remove the knife, hampering India's attempts to bring him back to stand trial because medics said flying with the 10-centimetre metal object lodged in his stomach might prove fatal.

Finally, though, authorities appeared to gain the upper hand, bringing him back on a private plane staffed with doctors.

Ghosh appeared in a Calcutta court to face a host of criminal conspiracy charges - with the knife apparently still lodged in his stomach.

The Calcutta judge scheduled another hearing September 11.

Ghosh, 45, is accused of cheating five Calcutta banks out of the equivalent of $7 million in 1994 and 1995. He is believed to have worked with local bank employees in his plots, which included forged cheques, non-existent accounts, and falsified loans, authorities said.