Cyber cons pose as NRI kin to dupe residents

Ludhiana: In two separate cases, two Ludhiana residents lost Rs 3.85 lakh and Rs 1.50 lakh to cyber fraudsters who duped them in the guise of their relatives. Both FIRs were lodged after detailed inquiry. In the first case, Karaj Singh of New Shimlapuri said that in April 2022, he received a WhatsApp call from an international number. The caller introduced him as a relative of his neighbour and said that he had transferred Rs 24 lakh into his account for purchase of a plot near his house. The accused also sent him a receipt. Hours later, he called again saying that he planned to visit India, for which he needed Rs 3.50 lakh to buy air tickets.
The complainant said that he transferred the money into his account but after that, the accused stopped taking his calls. Shimlapuri police registered a case under sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and the IT Act against the accused, identified as Gurmukh Singh, Afreen of Kolkata and Adveek Sharma of West Bengal.
In the second case, Daljeet Singh of Boothgarh Jattan village said that on May 19, he received a WhatsApp call from an international number and the caller claimed to be a relative, Vicky, who is settled abroad. The accused said that he had deposited Rs 6 lakh into his account. Later, he said he was in need of money and asked him to transfer Rs 1.50 lakh into his account. He deposited the money into his account.