Ludhiana: Three Uttar Pradesh natives have been booked by the Ludhiana police for duping a resident of Barewal road of Rs 1.71 lakh. The fraudsters lured the victim on the pretext of doubling the money. The FIR was lodged on Tuesday against Pritama Devi, Neelam Rajput and Gaurav, all of Uttar Pradesh, following an investigation by the cyber cell.
In his complaint to police, Amit Vohra of Pushp Vihar of Barewal road stated that he had posted an advertisement on OLX for selling old furniture. He had received a call from an unknown caller, who had shown interest in buying the furniture. The deal was settled for Rs 4,000.
Vohra added that during their conversation, the caller introduced him to an online scheme of doubling the money. The accused sent a QR code on WhatsApp and asked him to activate the scheme by clicking on it. After activating the link as a trial he sent Re 1 to the accused and received Rs 2 in return in a few seconds. He added that the accused sent him another link. When he clicked on it, his phone got hacked. Thereafter, the accused managed to get access to his online banking account and stole Rs 1.71 lakh.
Additional deputy commissioner of police (investigation) Rupinder Kaur Bhatti said that an FIR under Sections 420 (punishment for cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and IT Act had been lodged against the accused at police station, Sarabha Nagar, following a detailed investigation.