Malerkotla woman held for duping Kangra youth of Rs 5.5 lakh

The Kangra district police have arrested a woman hailing from Malerkotla in Punjab for allegedly duping a local youth of Rs 5.5 lakh on the pretext of sending him to Italy for employment.

The DSP of Kangra, Ankit Sharma, told the media that a complaint was filed by Dilbag Singh, a resident of Nagrota Bagwan, alleging that his son Akshay had been cheated by one Kamalpreet Kaur, a resident of Malerkotla.

Kamalpreet had previously worked in Malaysia and Cyprus and had recently returned to India. She contacted Akshay through a local intermediary and claimed she could secure an overseas job for him in Italy. Believing her, Akshay paid her Rs 5.5 lakh. Instead of depositing the money with any authorised placement agency, the accused allegedly transferred it to the bank accounts of her husband and brother.

The police officials said that the woman continued to mislead Akshay for several weeks. She reportedly told him that his visa had been approved, a work permit issued and his travel to Italy has been arranged by her.

On the pretext of completing formalities, she summoned him to Delhi International Airport. When Akshay reached the airport, Kamalpreet stopped answering his calls and subsequently blocked his number. It was then that Akshay realised that he had been duped, prompting his family to approach the police.

The FIR against her has been registered at the Nagrota Bagwan police station. SHO Navneet Saini told the media that the police used technical inputs and digital surveillance to trace her. Within three days of the complaint, Kamalpreet was arrested from Rabbo village in Malerkotla district. The police have also recovered the money fraudulently obtained from the complainant. The police will produce her in a local court on Friday.

Meanwhile, efforts were underway to identify and trace other individuals who may have been involved in the fraud along with her.