Engineer duped of more than 50 lakhs by luring him, a strange case of fraud
Surguja: In Surguja, Chhattisgarh, an engineer has been duped of more than 78 lakh rupees by luring him to send expensive gifts from abroad. The thugs befriended him through Instagram by posing as doctors. Then, by promising to send an iPhone and a parcel of foreign currency from America, they took money in the name of processing, insurance and custom duty. Now an FIR has been registered in the cyber police station.
According to the information, Ramagya Singh (51), a resident of Lakhanpur police station area, is posted as an engineer in the Manendragarh Forest Department. Ramagya became friends with Instagram user Dr. Matilda Harrison, a resident of the United Kingdom (UK) in June 2024. Normal conversation started between the two.
The thug deceived Ramagya Singh that he has completed 6 years of his service. He has sent a gift from the UK in his happiness. The gift includes many items including iPhone-14, T-shirt, perfume and foreign currency. Ramagya Singh was told to take the gift by sending a message on WhatsApp that you can deposit the local transportation and processing fees.
A few days later, the alleged courier service manager Deepak Sharma called and informed about the arrival of expensive gifts and foreign currency. He deposited Rs 78 lakh 37 thousand 999 in several accounts from 17 July 2024 to 29 October 2024 by claiming declaration certificate, confirmation certificate, monetary fund, income tax service, insurance service charge as delivery charge.
The victim Ramagya Singh was told that he has received a large amount of foreign currency and expensive gifts. Initially, Rs 28 thousand was deposited on 17 July 2024 in the name of delivery charge. Later, Rs 4 lakh 65 thousand were deposited in the name of custom duty, Rs 6 lakh 75 thousand for Arms Control Unit, Rs 2 lakh 75 thousand in the name of GST and lakhs of rupees in the name of other charges.
Ramagya Singh was told that the gift he received was worth Rs 1 crore 35 lakh. In return, he should deposit money for tax and processing. He kept depositing money in greed for an expensive gift. When he paid more than Rs 78 lakh and did not receive the gift, he realised that he had been cheated.
The cyber cell police have registered a case under sections 66D, 3(5), 318(4). This is the largest amount of online fraud committed by a person in Surguja division. It is suspected that Ramagya Singh fell prey to a cyber gang. At present, the police is investigating the case.
