09 September,2023 09:30 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Pic/File
A 26-year-old man has been arrested from Worli area in Mumbai for allegedly cheating a person of Rs 7 lakh after promising high returns on investment in Bitcoin and some online 'task' schemes, police said.
Riyazuddin Ahmed, the accused, was arrested on Friday and his two bank accounts with Rs 1.36 crore in them were frozen, said an official of Oshiwara police station.
As per Ismail Sheikh, the complainant, Ahmed approached him in July, telling him that Sheikh had won Rs 150 on an shopping app and would get the amount after clicking a link. Sheikh did so and Rs 150 were deposited in his account.
Later, Ahmed asked him to invest Rs 5,000 in Bitcoin and paid him Rs 6,500, thus winning his trust, said senior inspector Mohan Patil.
But later he allegedly asked Sheikh to make bigger investments in online 'task schemes' -- where a person is asked to perform simple online tasks like visiting a website or 'liking' a social media post/video and promised a reward. Sheikh deposited about Rs 7 lakh in two bank accounts as told, but did not get any money back and soon realised that he had been duped, the official said.
Police arrested Ahmed under relevant Indian Penal Code sections including 420 (cheating) and Information Technology Act and seized a laptop, two mobile phones, debit cards and a cheque book among other things from his possession.
More arrests are likely in the case, inspector Patil said.
Meanwhile, in an another incident, a couple has been booked for allegedly cheating 52 persons of Rs 2.42 crore through their investment firm, a Thane police official said on Saturday, according to the PTI.
Deepak Dalvi and his wife Shilpa Dalvi have been booked under provisions of Indian Penal Code and Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act, the Wagle Estate police station official said, reported the PTI.
"The took Rs 1 lakh each from 52 persons in 2010 but never paid interest or other promised returns. Later, they closed their firm. No one has been arrested in the case," he added, as per the PTI.
(with PTI inputs)
