Punjab: 3 arrested for cheating a farmer of Rs 1.05 crore
Punjab: A team of cyber police station Sri Ganganagar has arrested three persons from Jaipur in connection with the fraud of Rs 1.05 crore from farmer Sohan Singh. Deputy Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Walia said that the fraudsters transferred the money to two bank accounts in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh). He said that the money was transferred to several accounts on the same day and finally withdrawn. After investigation, Jaipur residents Mohit Soni, Kishan Singh Rajawat and Ajay Prajapat were arrested. According to Walia, Rajawat had given the account details of Soni and Prajapat to the fraudsters in exchange for Rs 10,000 each. On November 16, Rs 5 lakh each was deposited in the accounts of both. Rajawat then took Soni and Prajapat to the bank, from where they withdrew Rs 5 lakh each and handed over to him. However, Rajawat gave them only Rs 7,000 each in return. It was later revealed that Mangi Lal of Jodhpur was waiting outside the CCTV camera of the bank. Rajawat took a part of his share and gave the rest to Mangi Lal. The police are now scanning Rajawat’s call details to trace Mangi Lal. Sohan Singh, who recently sold his immovable property, told the police last month that he was “digitally arrested” by callers claiming to be CBI officers. These callers falsely questioned him about the large sums deposited in his bank accounts. Sohan said he was duped of Rs 1.05 crore in a “digital arrest” on November 15. His wife Jaswinder Kaur later lodged a complaint at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Sri Ganganagar. By the time the police traced the concerned bank accounts, the fraudsters had already transferred the amount to other accounts. However, the police managed to freeze Rs 18 lakh present in one of the accounts after contacting bank officials. Investigation revealed that the money was deposited in a Bhopal-based bank account, which received similar deposits from other victims at the same time. About Rs 4 crore from several victims was wired into this account, including Rs 80 lakh from Maharashtra and Rs 3.25 crore from Telangana. Police said they are continuing to investigate the wider network of cyber criminals involved in this operation.