Ludhiana resident loses ₹1.40 crore in online fraud

When the victim tried to withdraw the money from his online trading wallet, he could not as his wallet was frozen; the accused also sent him a legal notice, which was forged

A city resident became a victim of online fraud and lost ₹1.40 crore after he was lured to invest in online trading for huge and quick profit.

The accused lured the victim with high and quick profit and made him invest money in different stocks. (HT File Photo)

The accused had added the victim in different WhatsApp groups for sharing tips for online trading.

The city police have registered a case against nine persons, including Jonathan Simon, Marilena, AIP Shivan, Shaikh Sameer Rafik of Pandav Road of New Delhi, Sabuj Chakraborty of West Bengal, owner of Prem Digital Service of Jamia Nagar of New Delhi, Sonika Sachin Sawant and Sachin Gupta- both of Dombivali, Maharashtra.

The complainant Amit Kishor, 42, associate director at AccuScript Consultancy, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) said that on December 11, 2023, an unidentified number added him in a Whatsapp group in which stock market investment tips were shared. Some more people were also added into the group. Days later, he was added into another such group. Not only the admins, but some group members also shared their experience of getting huge profits.

Kishor added that the accused lured him with high and quick profit and made him invest money in different stocks.

According to the complainant, he had invested ₹1.40 crore as told by the accused. They were also showing him virtually that the stocks were growing. Later, the accused forced him to invest more money, but he had already invested all his savings. As he refused to make more investment, the accused started threatening him that a heavy penalty that would be imposed on him. Besides, when he tried to withdraw the money from his online trading wallet, he could not as his wallet was frozen. The accused also sent him a legal notice, which was forged.

Thereafter, the victim filed a police complaint, and an inquiry was made to the cyber cell of the Ludhiana police.

Inspector Jatinder Singh, who investigated the matter, said that during the probe, the police identified the accused and lodged an FIR against them under sections 420, 120-B, 465, 467, 468, 471, 506 of the IPC. A hunt is on for the arrest of the accused.