Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A truck driver was kidnapped and assaulted by cyber conmen after a dispute over online gaming money routed through his bank account. Held hostage overnight in Vidisha on Thursday, the victim was later driven to Bhopal where he was beaten through the journey. He escaped in Misrod after shouting for help, prompting locals to intervene. Police have filed a case and launched a search for the accused.
Primary investigation shows the gang had been using the driver’s bank account as a mule account for illegal gaming-related transactions, paying him a commission of Rs 5000.
Misrod police in-charge Ratan Singh said that around 12 days ago, the accused transferred Rs 4 lakh into the account of Sunil Malviya, a truck driver from Mandsaur, for online gaming payments. Trouble erupted when Sunil returned only Rs 3 lakh, as Rs 1 lakh was automatically deducted to cover his truck loan installment.
Angered, the cyber fraudsters summoned him to Vidisha on Wednesday night. Sunil went with his friend Lakhan to a hotel, where both were held captive and assaulted. On Thursday morning, four accused drove them to Bhopal. In Misrod, two of the kidnappers stepped out of the car to meet someone nearby, giving Sunil a chance to escape. He jumped out, raised an alarm, and residents rushed in. The remaining accused fled.
Police reached the spot and took Sunil and Lakhan to Misrod police station. Sunil told officers he was threatened with weapons and forced to call his family for Rs 1 lakh.
‘Gaming commission’ trap
Sunil told police he met prime accused Hariom Vaishnav of Rajasthan about three months ago. Vaishnav claimed he dealt in online gaming transactions and explained that people often move gaming funds through others’ bank accounts. Each account holder received Rs 5000 as commission, while remaining amounts had to be forwarded to other accounts as instructed.
