A businessman from Khar was allegedly duped to the tune of ₹40,800 on the pretext of procuring Remdesivir injection for a relative through a Cipla Foundation employee.
The victim was asked to make an online payment to receive the package, but only to be cheated. The accused has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act for cheating.
According to police, the incident occurred in the last week of April, when the complainant was looking to procure Remdesivir injections for a relative. The victim was scouring through the internet in search of leads, when he came across the number of the accused, who identified himself as an employee of Cipla Foundation. Believing him to be genuine, the businessman contacted the man, who assured him of arranging six vials of Remdesivir injections for a cost of ₹20,400.
The accused asked the businessman to make an online payment and the injection vials would be delivered to his address. Accordingly, a payment of ₹20,400 was made to the accused, who said the transaction was failed and asked to make the payment again. Subsequently, another transaction of ₹20,400 was made towards the account of the accused, which he denied having received. When the businessman realised he was being duped, he immediately approached Khar Police and lodged a complaint on April 27.
Police booked the unidentified accused under relevant sections for cheating and began the probe. Police contacted the bank and froze the accused person's account, only to realise that there were ₹13.37 lakh deposited in the account opened with fake documents in the name of Cipla Foundation, of which ₹9.57 lakh were withdrawn, in a Patna-based bank.
Police, however, managed to freeze ₹3.80 lakh in the account and are probing the matter further, said Gajanan Kabdule, senior inspector of Khar police station.
A primary probe has revealed that the accused has duped many people from Delhi and northern parts of the country using the same modus operandi. Meanwhile, the Cipla Foundation had tweeted on April 29: “Please beware that unscrupulous fraudsters (falsely claiming as Cipla Foundation) offering supply basis advance online payments. Police are investigating and prosecuting offenders. If you are approached for such transactions, please do not transfer any funds and immediately notify the local poluce or cyber cell of such activity."
