Ludhiana: Mohali man held for duping city trader of ₹12k

Police said the accused, Sahil Makkar of LIG Flats, Mohali, used to hire a taxi, visit shops and pose as a customer before cheating traders

Division Number 4 police have arrested a man for allegedly duping a garment trader of ₹12,000 after posing as a customer in Gandhi Nagar market.

Police registered an FIR under Sections 316(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and arrested the accused. (HT File)

Police said the accused, Sahil Makkar of LIG Flats, Mohali, used to hire a taxi, visit shops and pose as a customer before cheating traders.

In the incident reported on April 16, the accused entered a ready-made garments shop, selected clothes and asked the shopkeeper to pack them. Complainant Vikas Thapar of Inder Vihar, Kali Sadak, told police that the accused had arrived with another man. Thapar alleged that the accused asked him to transfer ₹12,000 through a QR code, saying he would pay the full amount in cash shortly. After receiving the money, the accused went out on the pretext of using the washroom, leaving the other man inside the shop and did not return.

Thapar said when he questioned the man, he came to know that he was a taxi driver hired by the accused and did not know him personally.

Police said inquiries in the market revealed that similar complaints had been made by other traders.

SHO Jaspal Singh said at least five similar complaints had surfaced so far. The accused was produced before a court and remanded to two days of police custody. Police said further investigation is underway.