MUMBAI: A 49-year-old salon owner, BB Raja, from Powai fell victim to a scam orchestrated by a couple who allegedly duped him of Rs 1.4 crore. The case was registered by the Powai police after the couple diverted Raja’s money and the profits earned from share trading for their own use instead of transferring them to his account. The fraud was initiated by a cooperative bank manager who introduced Raja to a person claiming to be a share trading expert.
Between January 24, 2022, and February 24, 2022, Raja invested a total of Rs 1.4 crores in four installments. The accused later informed Raja that his investment had yielded a profit, bringing his total revenue to Rs 3.3 crore. In his complaint, Raja stated: “The accused gave a cheque for Rs90 lakhs to deposit in my account. However, it bounced. He then gave excuses that the limit in his bank to clear the cheque was Rs72 lakhs and it was reason for the cheque bounced. He then transferred Rs 2 lakhs through online fund transfer. In Sep 2023, the accused said he has transferred Rs5 lakhs to my account and even sent the receipt on WhatsApp. However, I found out that no such fund credited to my account.”
The accused continued to provide excuses and claimed to have transferred Rs 26 lakhs to Raja’s account, even sending a receipt on WhatsApp. However, the money never reached Raja’s account. Further investigation revealed that the accused had diverted the money to invest in share trading despite Raja’s objections and repeated requests to repay his money.
The Powai police are currently investigating the case and seeking details of the bank account to which the accused diverted the money. They are also searching for the couple involved in the fraud. The police officer stated, “The probe is on against the couple who was involved in duping Raja. We have sought details of the bank account to which the accused has diverted the money instead of transferring to Raja’s account.”