Mohali resident booked for duping his friend of ₹55 lakh

The accused has another cheating case registered against him.

The district police on Thursday booked a person for allegedly duping his friend of ₹55 lakh on the pretext of seeking financial help. The accused has been identified as Balvir Singh of Phase 1 in Mohali.

The accused is on the run, police said. (Representational photo)

As per the complainant, Pradeep Kumar of Sector 20 in Chandigarh, Balvir was his good friend of 15 years so when he asked for ₹50 lakh to send his daughter abroad, Pradeep gave him the money. However, Balvir didn’t return the amount despite several requests. Later, the accused asked for ₹5 lakh more saying that he needed to get a bank loan passed. He assured Pradeep to return his money once he got the loan, but failed to do so. Subsequently, Balvir stopped answering his calls and his family members threatened of committing suicide and blaming it on Pradeep if he ever asked for the money.

On May 13, the accused signed a self-declaration form in which he mentioned that he would return the entire amount to Pradeep by July 2, but all in vain.

Inspector Manphul Singh said, “A raid was conducted at the accused’s house, but he was not there. He is at large and we will arrest him soon. It was found that another cheating case had been registered against him in the past.”