Pune man conned with Instagram message, loses ₹33.5 lakh; 2 booked

Two persons were booked for duping a Pune-based man of over ₹33.5 lakh after establishing contact with him on Instagram. A man got in touch with the 37-year-old complainant through Instagram and feigned interest in a monetary investment with his help. He then sent a flight ticket to the complainant on WhatsApp and claimed to be coming to New Delhi from London on September 10.

Later, a woman called the complainant, claiming to be a customs officer, and told him that a passenger of his knowledge had failed to complete yellow paper immigration procedure. Further, he was told that the man from London had expensive goods and currency with him that could not get through customs. For that, the complainant was made to transfer ₹33,50,975 to nine different accounts for various reasons, including upgradation of his bank account for deposit of foreign currency, affidavit of approval, anti-drug and terrorist test, and accommodation of the man, among others.

The complainant approached the cyber crime cell who carried out preliminary investigation and transferred the case to Vimantal police station. Subsequently, a case under Section 406, 419, 410 and 34 of Indian Penal Code and Sections 66(c)(d) of Information Technology Act was registered against the man and the woman. Police inspector (crime) Sathe of Vimantal police station is investigating the case.