Mumbai cyber police recover Rs 35.12 lakh businessman lost to online fraudsters

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A sum of Rs 35.12 lakh that a businessman lost to online fraudsters has been recovered, a Mumbai cyber police official said on Thursday, reported news agency PTI.

The victim, a resident of south Mumbai, had alerted police immediately, which allowed the Mumbai cyber police cell of the Crime Branch to act swiftly, he added.

"Online fraudsters posing as police and Income Tax department personnel duped the businessman of Rs 35.12 lakh after telling him there was a parcel in his name, which had led them to some unauthorised transactions done by him," the official told PTI.

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"After he was forced the transfer the amount, the businessman sensed something amiss and immediately alerted police on its cyber helpline 1930. The bank's nodal officer was contacted and the money was recovered," the official told PTI.

In another case, police in Maharashtra's Thane district have registered a case against unidentified persons for allegedly tampering with a consignment of raw material, worth more than Rs 36 lakh, ordered by a pharmaceutical company, an official said on Tuesday, reported PTI.

As per the complaint, either during its transit or storage in the godown in Bhiwandi tehsil in the district, the accused pilfered the Gliclazide IP powder from 20 drums and replaced it with a similar-looking substance, he said.

The FIR was registered under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 407 (criminal breach of trust by carrier) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), based on a complaint by a 62-year-old businessman from Virar in Palghar district, who imported the material from China, the police official said, reported PTI.

"The incident reportedly took place during the transportation of Gliclazide IP powder from Nhava Sheva port in Navi Mumbai, to a pharma godown at Rahnal in Bhiwandi, or during its transit to the company in Himachal Pradesh," he said, reported PTI.

The accused are suspected to be either the driver employed by the transport agency or someone at the godown where the material was stored, are under investigation for the tampering that occurred between September and November last year, the police said, reported PTI.

The complaint alleged that due to the removal of the Gliclazide IP powder, there was a loss of material worth Rs 36,61,752, they said.

Further investigation is progressing into the case, the official said, adding that no arrest has been made in this connection.

(With inputs from PTI)