E-Paper
Chennai jeweller duped of ₹75 L by scamster impersonating city bizman
MUMBAI: LT Marg police hunt for a fraudster who duped a Chennai jeweller of ₹75 lakh by impersonating businessman Prithviraj Kothari.
MUMBAI: The LT Marg police have launched a manhunt for an accused who allegedly duped a Chennai-based jeweller of ₹75 lakh by impersonating Prithviraj Kothari, a well-known city jeweller and businessman. The accused, using Kothari’s name and display photo on his mobile, asked a relative of the complainant to send the amount which, he claimed, was needed for ongoing work at a temple in Mumbai. The LT Marg police have registered a case of cheating against three unknown persons.
According to the police, the complainant, Vikash Singhi, owner of ‘Konika Jewellers’ in Chennai, alleged that on December 12, his relative Parasmal Jain received a WhatsApp call from an unknown mobile number. The caller’s WhatsApp display picture was that of their close friend, businessman Prithviraj Kothari.
Believing that it was indeed Kothari, Parasmal Jain engaged in conversation with the fraud caller who claimed that ₹75 lakh worth of funds for temple work were with a Chennai-based businessman, Anil Jain, and he required the money in Mumbai. The caller asked Parasmal to bring the money from Anil Jain and give it to someone called Ashok Bhai in Mumbai.
Parasmal then shared the caller’s mobile number with his brother, Manish Singhi, informing him that he would receive a call about the said money. In some time, Manish received a WhatsApp call from the same caller, who introduced himself as Anil Jain and asked him to come to his office to collect the money. However, Singhi asked him to deliver the money at his shop, as he was busy with some work. Anil Jain replied that he would bring the money in some time.
Since Anil Jain is a well-known businessman in Chennai, Singhi believed him and called his business acquaintance, Rakesh Jain, in Chennai and asked him to pay the amount, telling him that when the money arrived from Anil Jain, he would return it to Rakesh. As per the instructions, Rakesh Jain called a certain Ganesh Angadia in Mumbai and gave him Ashok Bhai’s mobile number, instructing Ganesh to pay him the money.
Around 4pm on December 12, a person claiming to be Ashok Bhai visited Ganesh Angadia’s office in Phopalwadi area, Bhuleshwar, gave him Prithviraj Kothari’s reference and collected the money, stated the FIR.
After the transaction, Ganesh Angadia called Rakesh Jain, informing him that ₹75 lakh had been given to Ashok Bhai, which information Rakesh passed on to Manish Singhi. Manish, in turn, called Parasmal Jain, informing him that the money had been paid.
When Parasmal Jain tried calling on the number with the display pic of Prithviraj Kothari, he found it switched off. He then contacted Prithviraj Kothari’s on another mobile number and learnt that he had not made any call for money. Parasmal Jain then called the mobile number of the person impersonating Anil Jain, who had told him that ₹75 lakh would be delivered in some time, and found his mobile too switched off. They then realised that they had been duped, said a police officer. The case was registered, and police are conducting an inquiry in the matter.
