Mumbai: The Malabar hill police in Mumbai have arrested three people from Surat in Gujarat for cheating a South Mumbai resident to a tune of Rs 26, 999. The police said the accused used to put advertisements on OLX to take cash later.
The police said the complainant saw a bicycle on the shopping portal. To buy it, he sent a message on the mobile number. "The fraudster asked him to pay Rs 26, 999 to get the bicycle. But when the victim called him back, the fraudster didn't respond to him. He then saw the advertisement on the portal and found it was removed. Getting suspicious about being cheated he then approached the police to register a case," said a police officer.
The Malabar Hill police have registered a case under sections 419 and 420 of the Indian penal code and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
The Malabar Hill police started the investigation to find the amount being transferred to different bank accounts through Paytm. "We also tried to get details of the WhatsApp number used by the accused. And found it was registered in the name of some dead person," said a police officer.
As per the details and information, the team headed by Tukaram Dighe, an assistant police inspector along with cyber staff reached Gujarat on December 20. Through technical details, the team caught hold of Shani Kumar Pravin Bhai Sheladiya (26), a resident of Surat in Gujarat from his office. "We found 10 sim cards from different telecom companies, which he used in the crime. On further investigation, we arrested Sunil Bharat Bhai Waghsiya (27), who provided him with the sim card and Yagnil Jayanti Bhai Panseriya (28), who activated the sim card," said a police officer.
The police on further search found 320 dummy sim cards from them. "We seized a laptop, 7 mobile phones, 6 bank cheque books and sim cards," said a police officer.
Suryakant Bangar, senior police inspector, Malabar hill police station confirmed the arrest and said, "The accused were using OLX platform for advertisement with their WhatsApp number. After talking on the phone they used to share a Paytm number to forward the cash. After taking cash they break the sim card and block the number. We are checking how many such people they have cheated with," added Bangar.
