THE Mumbai police on Saturday arrested a 28-year-old man from Pune for allegedly siphoning off Rs 3 lakh from the bank account of a south Mumbai-based doctor.
According to police, accused Bipin Mahato called the doctor on November 21 last year, posing as a bank executive. He asked for the ten-digit account number of the complainant’s bank account.
A police officer said: “Initially, the complainant was reluctant in giving away his bank account details. Later, the caller said that he wanted to authorise the bank’s application and just needed the account number. He also guaranteed that he wouldn’t ask for the pin or password. The doctor did not suspect any foul play and gave his account number.”
The police said that a link was then generated on the complainant’s mobile number, following which, the caller asked him to forward the message to his number.
“After the doctor forwarded him the message, he lost Rs 2.9 lakh in four different transactions, including two of Rs 1 lakh each and one each of Rs 50,000 and Rs 40,000 seconds later,” added an officer.
The doctor then approached Gamdevi police station and registered a case against an unidentified person.
A team was then formed to investigate into the details of the bank account in which the amount was transferred.
“The account belonged to one person named Mahato and the account was opened in the Pune branch of a bank. A team of officers was sent to his address and he was brought to the police station for enquiry. After he confessed, he was arrested,” said an officer from Gamdevi police station.
The police said they were verifying whether the accused was wanted in more cases. He was produced in Killa court on Sunday and has been remanded in police custody.
Gamdevi police have registered a case of cheating under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act.
