Mumbai Court Acquits Jharkhand Man In ₹2.99 Lakh PAN-Aadhaar Cyber Fraud Case

Mumbai: In a four-year-old cyber fraud case wherein a city-based police officer lost ₹2.99 lakh after a call regarding PAN and Aadhaar card updates, the metropolitan magistrate court, Girgaon, has acquitted the accused from Jharkhand.

The court held that the mere receipt of funds suspected to be proceeds of cybercrime is insufficient to establish guilt without additional credible evidence.

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It noted that the complainant, Priyanka Pawar transferred the money after providing an OTP, which does not constitute a criminal offence by the recipient, Manoj Kisku, 23. While the court observed that the man cannot be held criminally liable, it noted that civil liability may exist.

Pawar lodged a complaint with the South Cyber police station, claiming that on February 26, 2022, she received a call from an individual posing as a bank representative. The caller instructed her to update her PAN and Aadhaar details via a link. Upon clicking the link, ₹99,986 was transferred from her account. She later provided an OTP, leading to further debits totalling ₹2.99 lakh.

The investigation identified that the mobile number belonged to Rauf Ansari, while the funds were credited to the account of Kisku, a resident of Jamua, Jharkhand.

The court observed that the prosecution failed to establish a criminal conspiracy or a direct connection between Kisku and Ansari, noting that the mobile number used for communication was registered in Ansari’s name, yet Ansari had not been arrested. “It appears that the investigating officer had not arrested Ansari. Besides, the prosecution had not adduced direct or any circumstantial evidence on record, which could reflect that there was criminal conspiracy of the accused with Ansari,” the court stated.

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