Two booked for Rs 13.5 lakh fraud

A case has been registered after a Phagwara resident alleged that he was cheated of Rs 13.5 lakh by two individuals who had promised to send his son abroad. The complainant, Narresh Kumar, accused the men of fraud, cheque dishonour and issuing threats when confronted.

According to the complaint, Kumar had entered into an agreement with agent Virender Kumar, a resident of Gobindpura, Phagwara, and his brother Raman Kumar, who is based in Canada, to send his son to New Zealand after payment of Rs 15 lakh. He claimed to have paid nearly Rs 13.5 lakh in cash and through bank transfers to the accused.

When the promised travel arrangement failed to materialise, Virender Kumar allegedly issued a cheque in repayment. The cheque later bounced due to insufficient funds in his bank account. Narresh told the police that he then served a legal notice through his counsel on the accused, after which Virender Kumar allegedly called him and threatened to commit suicide, warning that the blame would be shifted onto him.

Narresh maintained that he was being harassed and pressured into giving up his demand for repaying money. He sought recovery of the amount paid by him and legal action against the accused.