Haldwani Retired Govt doctor duped of Rs 10.5 lakh by man posing as treasury officer

Dehradun: A 22-year-old man from Bihar was arrested from Kolkata by the Uttarakhand police’s cybercrime wing for pretending to be a treasury department official and allegedly cheating a Haldwani-based retired government doctor of Rs 10.5 lakh by claiming to resolve his pension issues.

The police seized 16 sim cards, 6 debit cards and two mobile phones from the accused, identified as Abhishek Shaw. According to the complaint filed on October 26, 2022, by the doctor, who is a resident of Nainital district’s Haldwani, it was alleged that an unknown person called him and cheated him of Rs 10.50 lakhs by pretending to be a treasury officer.

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The senior superintendent of police (STF), Ayush Agarwal, said that the investigation was subsequently referred to the cybercrime wing. Speaking to HT, he said, "During the investigation, the investigation officer came to know that the duped money was withdrawn in West Bengal and Bihar through different ATMs. Subsequently, a team was immediately sent there. For 15 days, the team scanned CCTV clips and searched the possible areas. The team also conducted raids in Bihar’s Hajipur, Vaishali and West Bengal’s Kolkata."

He said, "The police team arrested the accused, Abhishek Shaw, a resident of Vaishali in Bihar, from his flat in Kolkata’s Kasba locality. The police also seized the SIM cards, mobile phones and debit cards from the accused," adding, "After arrest, the accused was brought to Uttarakhand on transit remand."

Agarwal said that the police have been gathering information about the criminal past of the accused with the help of their counterparts in other states.

According to the police, Shaw indulged in similar fraudulent activities in the past and was also arrested by the Kolkata police for cyber fraud. He had reportedly cheated many retired government officials by acquiring their details from their respective former departments, as per a media report in the Times of India.

Agarwal said about such repeated incidents, "After calling them, he would claim to be speaking from the treasury department and make them believe about some issue related to their pension. After convincing them to resolve their issues, he would make them download an app for remote access to their mobile phone before fraudulently transferring money from their account. He also tried to dupe Dr Lal's wife, also a retired government doctor, the same way."

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