Citizens lose ₹1.06 cr in five cheating cases

In the second case, a software professional lodged a complaint with Kondhwa police stating that he was duped for ₹41.21 lakh by cyber fraudsters, who promised exorbitant returns for investment in shares and bitcoins

Five incidents of cheating were lodged in the city across various police stations on Saturday. In the first case, Sunil Gole (52), a resident of Sahakarnagar has lodged a complaint against a company staffer for cheating Bhagyashri Travels ₹9.81 lakh. According to the FIR, the accused, Vedant Ganesh Jadhav (24) was the tour operator entrusted with various tasks wherein he bought extra tickets for the customer and later cancelled them. Instead of crediting the amount to the company account, he siphoned off the sum for his gains.

According to the FIR, the victim received information from another person who asked him to invest in bitcoins. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)

In the second case, a software professional lodged a complaint with Kondhwa police stating that he was duped for ₹41.21 lakh by cyber fraudsters, who promised exorbitant returns for investment in shares and bitcoins. According to the FIR, the victim received information from another person who asked him to invest in bitcoins. The victim paid the amount online and waited for the refund. A link sent to him by a fraudster directed him to verify if the money was legal or illicit. Police Inspector Santosh Sonawane said that a case under relevant sections of cheating and breach of trust under BNS has been lodged against the accused.

In the third case, Rupali Yeole, a resident of Narpatgiri Chowk lodged a complaint with Samartha police stating that an unidentified person called her on the mobile phone and posed as a customs officer. The accused threatened her with legal action alleging that her parcel had some suspicious material and asked her to deposit money in a different bank account. Accordingly, the victim credited ₹19 lakh in different accounts and was cheated. The FIR was lodged on June 26 for the offence which took place between October 26, 2023, and Nov 4, 2023. No arrest has been made so far.

In the fourth incident, Vikram Kashinath Shinde, a resident of Aundh lodged a complaint with Chatushrungi police stating that he was cheated for ₹15.22 lakh wherein the accused promised his tasks against payment, took money online and did not return the paid sum.

The offence took place between June 5 and July 7.

In the fifth incident, Santosh Bhartiya, a resident of Lohegaon lost ₹21.05 lakh after being lured to invest in an online stock market and Initial Public Offer (IPO) fraudulent scheme. The victim fell for the bait of the cybercriminals, paid money through different online bank accounts and was cheated. The offence took place between May 9 and May 17 and the case was lodged on July 26.

DCP (EOW and Cybercrime) Vikrant Deshmukh said, “Citizens should be very careful when it comes to online investment. They should go ahead only after carrying out a thorough verification of the websites and other details lest they get defrauded.”