Bihar man held for cheating Mumbai businessman of Rs 45 lakh

The accused’s bank account and computer IP address were traced to Bihar

The North Region Cyber Cell of Mumbai arrested a man from Bihar's Shekhpura district for allegedly duping a Malad-based businessman on the pretext of helping him procure a petrol pump.

Complainant Vinay Kishor Neli, 26, wanted to open a petrol pump and was going through a number of government websites to know the procedure when he came across the contact details of a man named Gauravraj Anil Prasad in January this year. When he contacted Prasad, the latter posed as a government official and said that he would help him procure the petrol pump. Soon after he took Rs 19,500 from the victim as procedure fees. Over a month, the accused extracted Rs 45 lakh from Neli.

Prasad shared a website link with Neli and asked him to fill in the required details and attach some documents after providing him the login ID and password. Neli filled in the details and also transferred the amount Prasad asked for to his account via internet banking.

However, when the accused started demanding more money from him, Neli got suspicious and contacted the Malad police station and the North Region Cyber Cell office last month. Following this, the Cyber Cell registered a case and started investigation.

Requesting anonymity, an officer said, "We tracked down the accused's account and computer IP address. We laid a trap for two days and caught him. Investigation revealed that some other people are involved in the case, one of whom is the accused's elder brother, who is at large. We arrested Prasad and brought him to Mumbai. A case has been registered against him under various sections of the IPC and IT Act."