E-Paper
3 Bihar men booked for duping elderly Ludhiana man of ₹11.5 lakh
The 78-year-old victim stated in his complaint that the fraudsters, posing as the Canada-based son of his close friend, sought money from him on the pretext of an emergency
An elderly man was duped of ₹11.5 lakh by fraudsters impersonating as his friend’s NRI son.
Based on an FIR lodged by Balwant Singh, 78, a resident of Urban Estate Phase- I, Dugri, police have booked three Bihar residents , identified as Abid, Ritik Raj and Bikki Kumar.
Balwant stated in his complaint that in April, the fraudsters, posing as Canada-based GB Singh, the son of his close friend Balwinder Singh, sought money from him on the pretext of an emergency. He then transferred ₹11.5 lakh into bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.
After the money was transferred, they stopped calling Balwant and he realised that he had been duped, following which he lodged a complaint with the Dugri police.
The trio has been booked under Section 419, 420 and 120- B of IPC and 66- D of IT Act. Investigating officer Deep Kamal (ACP, South) said that a probe is underway.
Not the first incident
Balwant Singh is not alone, as many city residents including cops and advocates have fallen prey to fraudsters pretending to be their NRI relatives. Recently, an advocate’s father was duped of ₹26 lakh, and two cops lost ₹50,000 and ₹2 lakh, respectively. These online fraudsters usually seek money from the victims by feigning a medical emergency or pretending to be stuck at immigration checkpoints.
