Kolkata doctor loses Rs 36 lakh to online investment scam, accused arrested

Kolkata: In a recent case of cyber fraud, a doctor from Barasat allegedly lost Rs 36 lakh to a fake online investment scheme after he came across an advertisement on Facebook for a money-investment platform named “5paisa Capital.” The state CID arrested the main accused, a 34-year-old movie producer in connection with the case.

Thinking it was genuine, the doctor clicked on the advertisement, which straight away redirected him to a WhatsApp group that claimed to provide stock investment advice and tutorials. Hoping for high returns, the doctor invested his money but instead got scammed.

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The incident took place after the doctor entered the WhatsApp group, followed the investment tips and was convinced to invest his money. Over the next two months, he invested the amount through ten separate transactions, but he neither saw any returns nor did he get a refund of his money.

Following this, he approached the police and registered a case under the relevant sections of BNS. During the investigation, the police found that Rs 18 lakh of the total Rs 36 lakh was transferred to a company named 'The Local Brand Shop'.

According to a senior officer of the cyber police station of the state CID, the company's owner was identified as Prosenjit Ranjan Nath, who had also produced films and was allegedly identified as the key beneficiary of the proceeds of crime. He was arrested at his apartment at Madurdaha along the Bypass at Anandapur.

"We are trying to find out who else was involved in the fraud. We will also check the transactions in the beneficiary bank accounts to find out if more siphoned-off money has been transferred into this account," said an officer of the state CID.

Senior officers of the state police said it was always advisable to avoid any financial transactions on platforms whose leads emerge from social media.

Talking to The Telegraph, a senior police officer said, “Social media platforms do not have any checking mechanism. They allow anyone to display their advertisements who pays the stipulated revenue. Many such advertisements are fake and are designed to trap people into online scams."

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