Man who duped city-based industrialist of Rs 86 lakh held

The Cybercrime Police Station of the city claims to have arrested an accused from West Bengal, who committed a cyber-fraud of Rs 86 lakh with a Ludhiana-based businessman, in 2024. A cyber team visited West Bengal after getting tip-off about location of the accused and arrested him.

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Giving details, cybercrime in-charge Inspector Satbir Singh stated that after the arrest, the accused was presented in a court which sent him to two-day police remand. Inspector believed that during questioning, the accused may divulge many important details. This incident took place in December 2024.

According to the complaint, the scamster contacted the accountant, Amit Salariya, through WhatsApp, claiming to be the director, Shrenik Jain, a well known industrialist from the town. He had set up a WhatsApp profile with Jain’s photo, making Amit believe he was talking to his boss. He instructed Amit to transfer Rs 86 lakh to a bank account with regard to a new project. Amit, unaware of the scam, transferred the money. A short while later, when Shrenik spoke with Amit, both were shocked to realise what had happened. During their conversation, it became clear that a cybercriminal had defrauded them of Rs 86 lakh.

Acting on the matter, the cybercrime police station immediately registered an FIR in this connection. Inspector Singh said the initial investigation revealed that the perpetrator had opened a fake account to commit the crime, using forged documents to activate it. The cyber team continued its investigation into the matter and eventually, a police party managed to arrest the main accused in the case.

Inspector Singh stated that the police traced the accused through technical investigation and took him into custody from West Bengal.

The police also recovered over Rs 21.5 lakh from the accused. Further investigation into the matter was in progress, and it was likely that more defrauded money could be recovered from the accused, Inspector Singh said.