PUNE: A 26-year-old Indian Engineering Services (IES) aspirant was duped of Rs2 lakh in a foreign exchange (forex) deal by two men at Mhada colony in Hadapsar on Sunday.
The matter came to light when the victim, Kothrud resident Dinesh M Bhatia, lodged an FIR with the Hadapsar police on Tuesday. Bhatia is an engineer, who undertakes civil contract works, and is also preparing for his IES examination.
"I got lured by the forex offer," Bhatia told TOI. The suspects had offered him 600 US currencies of $20 denomination in exchange of Rs2 lakh as against the actual exchange cost of over Rs7.78 lakh.
Senior inspector Vishnu Pawar of Hadapsar police station said, "We have identified the two suspects, who are residents of Bhosari. We will arrest them soon."
In the FIR, Bhatia stated that about six to seven months ago, he came in contact with a mango vendor Azad Shaikh alias Mansur at a supermarket located close to his residence.About four months ago, Mansur allegedly told Bhatia that he had 600 to 700 US currencies of $20 denomination. When Bhatia sought to know where he secured the foreign currencies, Mansur told him that his aunt was working as a maid with a family settled in the United States and she had given him the currency.
The accused allegedly offered to exchange the currency at a much lower rate, the FIR stated. "I was not keen on the offer but he continued offering me the deal and I finally fell for the bait," Bhatia said.
On November 18, Mansur called Bhatia and negotiated a final deal. The next day, Bhatia called Mansur asking him where he should come with the Indian currency to make the exchange. Mansur asked him to reach Mhada colony in Hadapsar, the FIR stated.
After they met, the accused collected Rs2 lakh from Bhatia and handed him a bundle of 'US currency' notes packed in a handkerchief. They started leaving the spot when Bhatia realized that only the first two notes were genuine. He immediately called the duo but they ran away, the FIR stated.
The matter came to light when the victim, Kothrud resident Dinesh M Bhatia, lodged an FIR with the Hadapsar police on Tuesday. Bhatia is an engineer, who undertakes civil contract works, and is also preparing for his IES examination.
"I got lured by the forex offer," Bhatia told TOI. The suspects had offered him 600 US currencies of $20 denomination in exchange of Rs2 lakh as against the actual exchange cost of over Rs7.78 lakh.
Senior inspector Vishnu Pawar of Hadapsar police station said, "We have identified the two suspects, who are residents of Bhosari. We will arrest them soon."
In the FIR, Bhatia stated that about six to seven months ago, he came in contact with a mango vendor Azad Shaikh alias Mansur at a supermarket located close to his residence.About four months ago, Mansur allegedly told Bhatia that he had 600 to 700 US currencies of $20 denomination. When Bhatia sought to know where he secured the foreign currencies, Mansur told him that his aunt was working as a maid with a family settled in the United States and she had given him the currency.
The accused allegedly offered to exchange the currency at a much lower rate, the FIR stated. "I was not keen on the offer but he continued offering me the deal and I finally fell for the bait," Bhatia said.
On November 18, Mansur called Bhatia and negotiated a final deal. The next day, Bhatia called Mansur asking him where he should come with the Indian currency to make the exchange. Mansur asked him to reach Mhada colony in Hadapsar, the FIR stated.
After they met, the accused collected Rs2 lakh from Bhatia and handed him a bundle of 'US currency' notes packed in a handkerchief. They started leaving the spot when Bhatia realized that only the first two notes were genuine. He immediately called the duo but they ran away, the FIR stated.
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