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Fraudsters posing as crime branch officials dupe Ludhiana lawyer of 12 lakh

By, Ludhiana
Jun 13, 2024 10:31 PM IST

The Sadar police lodged a first-information report (FIR) against unidentified accused following the complaint of Guramitash Singh, a resident of Basant Avenue in Dugri in Ludhiana

The fraudsters impersonating officials of the Mumbai crime branch allegedly duped a city-based lawyer of over 12 lakh. The accused claimed that if he did not pay them money, they would book him for smuggling contraband to foreign countries. The victim transferred the money online.

The Ludhiana-based lawyer alleged that the accused threatened to implicate him in a peddling case and demanded <span class='webrupee'>₹</span>12.11 lakh for not registering a case against him (HT File)
The Ludhiana-based lawyer alleged that the accused threatened to implicate him in a peddling case and demanded 12.11 lakh for not registering a case against him (HT File)

After he realised he had been duped, he filed a complaint with the police.

The Sadar police lodged a first-information report (FIR) against unidentified accused following the complaint of Guramitash Singh, a resident of Basant Avenue in Dugri.

The victim told police that on June 5, he received a phone call. The caller introduced himself as Amit Sharma, a representative of a private courier service. He said they received a parcel booking in his name that contained contraband. When the victim claimed that had not booked any parcel, the caller said someone might have used his Aadhar Card to book it.

The caller asked him to talk to officials of the Mumbai crime branch and connected the call to someone else, who introduced himself as Indian Police (IPS) officer Varun Kumar.

The accused told him that the parcel was booked in his name and addressed to be sent to Malaysia. They informed him that the parcel contained four Pakistani passports and 140 gm drugs.

The victim added that the accused threatened to implicate him in a peddling case and demanded 12.11 lakh for not registering a case against him. The accused shared a bank account number and asked him to transfer the money.

When he tried to contact the accused after transferring the money, their numbers were switched off. He then realised that he had been duped.

Cyber cell in-charge inspector Jatinder Singh said that the bank account number given by the accused was in the name of a firm based in Gujarat. The police have registered an FIR against the unidentified accused under sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The inspector advised the people not to answer such calls and not to transfer money to anyone without proper verification.

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