Online fraud: 1st year law student duped of ₹1 lakh in Patiala

A first-year law student was duped of around ₹1 lakh in an online fraud related to purchase of an iPhone 11. The victim was purchasing the phone from an online website,

A first-year law student was duped of around ₹1 lakh in an online fraud related to purchase of an iPhone 11. The victim was purchasing the phone from an online website, olx.in, where the accused had given an advertisement.

HT Image

“I had ordered an iPhone 11, worth ₹48,000, from a person named Bablu. The accused asked me to deposit the amount in his bank account on February 12,” the victim, who is a resident of Haldwani (Uttarakhand) and is studying law at the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, said.

“However, I did not receive the phone even after making the payment,” he added.

The next day, the victim received a call from a person posing as a delivery man, who asked him to deposit another ₹51, 998 as insurance money to get the phone delivered. “He assured me that the amount will be returned to me after the delivery of the phone,” the victim said.

As directed by the accused, the victim deposited the said amount to the bank account provided by the delivery man. However, neither did he receive the phone nor was the ‘insurance’ money returned.

On Tuesday evening, a case was registered against the accused under Sections 416 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 120- B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Pardeep Singh, Bakshiwala station house officer (SHO), said that the investigation is underway to nab the accused at the earliest.