City resident falls for lottery prize bait, loses ₹44k to cheats

Ludhiana: A resident of the city lost Rs 44,200 to online fraudsters who lured him with Rs 25-lakh lottery prize bait.
Police have lodged an FIR against two accused, identified as Vivek Kumar of Bihar and Lala Bhagat of Assam.
Complainant Harish Kumar, 45, a resident of Sahibjada Ajit Singh Nagar, said, “On November 15, 2021, I received a call from an unidentified number. The caller introduced himself as an executive of an online lottery company. He stated that I had won a prize of Rs 25 lakh in a random selection of cellphone users and that they would transfer the money directly to my bank account.”
Harish said the caller asked him to deposit Rs 12,200 for GST registration, Rs 25,000 and Rs 7,000 in two different bank accounts to clear some formalities. “He claimed that he would transfer the prize amount immediately after completing the formalities. After I transferred the money to the accounts, the accused stopped taking my calls. I then realized I had been duped,” he added.
Inspector Jagdev Singh said following an inquiry, the case was lodged under sections 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and the IT Act against the accused.