Pune: Woman Loses Rs 1 Crore in Online Job Fraud; Cyber Cell Arrests Accused
Dehu Road, 30th May 2024: A woman was duped of more than Rs 1 crore when a fraudulent perpetrator lured her with the promise of a part-time job. The job involved sharing videos and initially receiving easy money. However, once trust was established, the perpetrator stole a substantial amount. The fraudulent individual has been arrested by the Cyber Cell of the Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissionerate. This incident occurred online in the Dehu Road area.
The woman filed a complaint with the Dehu Road Police Station. In collaboration, the Dehu Road Police and the Cyber Cell arrested the online fraudster, Laxman Amrut Gejage (resident of Paud Road, Pirangut). A complaint under IPC Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 34 (acts done by several individuals in furtherance of common intention), along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act of 2000, has been registered against the accused.
According to police reports, a woman from Dehu Road received a message on WhatsApp about job openings. In need of a job, she showed interest, and the fraudster told her she had to like and share videos from ShareChat. She was informed that liking three videos would earn her Rs 120. Then, she was asked to perform prepaid tasks for maximum returns. Initially, she invested Rs 1,000 and received returns, which built her trust. Consequently, she went on to invest Rs 1,02,83,648. When she didn’t receive any returns or her invested amount, she rushed to Dehu Road Police Station to register a complaint.
As this was a serious offence, the investigation was taken up by Cyber Cell officials. During the technical investigation, it was discovered that the complainant had sent money to 20 different accounts. Out of the Rs 1 crore invested, around Rs 3,00,000 was sent to an IndusInd Bank account. Upon investigating this account, transactions totalling Rs 2.5 crores were found. The account owner was arrested by Pimpri Chinchwad police, revealing that there were 72 cases registered against him across India. Pimpri Chinchwad Police are continuing their investigation into the matter.
This operation was conducted under the guidance of Pimpri Chinchwad Commissioner of Police Vinay Kumar Choubey, Additional Commissioner of Police Vasant Pardeshi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Doifode, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Dr Vishal Hire. The team comprised Senior Police Inspector Vaibhav Shingare, Assistant Police Inspector Pravin Swami, Police Sub-Inspector Sagar Poman, Police Sub-Inspector Ravindra Panhale, and Police Constables Krishna Gawali and Bansode.
