The Andheri MIDC police are yet to file an FIR in a cheating case where conmen made calls from Pakistan and duped an Andheri man of Rs 3.32 lakh promising him a ‘bumper’ prize
Shivaji Nilkanth’s trust in the police has been shaken. Duped of Rs 3.32 lakh by a cyber fraudster, the 57-year-old Andheri East resident put all his faith in the police to recover his money.
ADVERTISEMENT
Shivaji Nilkanth
But the police refused to even file an FIR on the grounds that since the fraudsters are from Pakistan, there is little they can do.
Nilkanth was drawn into a web of lies and deceit on July 27 when he received a call from a man, who identified himself as Vijay Saxena.
The caller claimed to be an executive of popular TV quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) and told Nilkanth that his phone number had been randomly selected for a bumper prize of R25 lakh.
Over the next few weeks, Saxena, and some of his associates — Rajbir Singh, Surendra Singh and Deepak Kumar — convinced Nilkanth to part with R3.32 lakh under one pretext or another.
Winning him over
To win his trust, Saxena reeled out a number, which he said would match that of Nilkanth’s SIM.
Nilkanth’s misgivings were wiped out when he realised the numbers were a match.
Then, Saxena and his associates began extracting money from Nilkanth under various pretexts, like for opening a new account or for tax payments. Once when Nilkanth questioned the delay in getting his prize money, Saxena said KBC host Amitabh Bachchan had to yet sign off on the cheque.
For this, Saxena again demanded more money.
Mortgaged jewels
To make the payments, Nilkanth mortgaged his wife and sister’s jewels and even borrowed money on interest.
Finally when it dawned on him that he was being taken for a ride, Nilkanth’s younger son, Abhijit, approached the cyber crime police station at Bandra-Kurla Complex.
The police traced the number and found that the calls came from Pakistan.
The cyber crime police directed Nilkanth to approach the MIDC police station, assuring him off all technical assistance needed in the investigation.
Cops’ insensitivity
According to Abhijit, the MIDC police recorded his father’s statement on August 7, but they haven’t yet filed an FIR. “The officer told us that they would not register an FIR as the fraudster had called from Pakistan. They said they would first make inquiries and then register an FIR.”
Nilkanth said that the most shocking part is that the fraudster’s number is still working and they are still calling him to extract more money. But the police have not even lodged an FIR, and merely recorded his statement. “I feel more “victimised” by the apathy of the police,” he said.
Police says
When asked about the delay in filing the FIR, investigating officer sub-inspector Deepak Raiwade of MIDC police station said, “We have obtained preliminary details of the phone numbers which turned out to be from Pakistan. And generally when criminals from outside the country are involved, we first make an inquiry and then lodge the FIR.”
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
