The police on Friday said that a tax consultant from Navi Mumbai was allegedly cheated of Rs 1.35 crore by four persons who assured to arrange a loan for him for a construction project, reported news agency PTI.

Based on a complaint, the Thane police have registered a case against four persons under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code for the offence that took place over a period of seven years, an official said, reported PTI.

The 33-year-old complainant had purchased land in Nagla village, Vasai taluka in Palghar district to set up his firm, and he was trying to arrange a loan for this through a company in January 2019.

“The complainant was asked to sign an agreement for processing the loan. The accused collected a processing fee of Rs 1.35 crore in the first instalment from the complainant`s company,” the official said, reported PTI.

He said that the accused allegedly didn`t send a team to inspect and study the project site or sanction the promised loan.

They also failed to return the processing fee, he added.

The official said that the police are verifying documents and financial transactions, and no arrests have been made.

Man held after 81-year-old woman is duped of 7.8 cr

In another case, a man was arrested for alleged involvement in a racket in which an 81-year-old woman was duped of Rs 7.8 crore using the `digital arrest` modus operandi, a Mumbai police official said on Thursday, reported PTI.

The accused, 21-year-old Kartik Chaudhary of Malvani in Malad, allegedly provided his bank account to another associate, through which Rs 1.98 lakh was transferred from the victim`s account, the official said, reported PTI.

“Chaudhary withdrew the amount and handed it over to another accomplice, whom he had come in contact with through the Telegram app. In return, he received a commission,” the official said, reported PTI.

“The victim, who is a resident of South Mumbai, had not lodged a complaint in the case. However, police received information about the massive fund transfer through internal inputs and began a probe. After a police team visited the woman`s residence, an FIR was lodged against unidentified persons,” he said, reported PTI.

The arrest marks a crucial step in curbing the rising cases of digital fraud in the city, the official added.

The Mumbai cyber police is conducting a further probe to arrest others involved in the case, the official informed.

`Digital arrest` is a modus operandi in which cyber fraudsters monitor a victim through channels like Skype and video calls while pressuring them into transferring huge sums of money in order to be let off in non-existent cases.

(With inputs from PTI)

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