Retired Ajmer man duped of over Rs 21 lakh in cyber scam

Ajmer: A retired officer from a private company lodged a complaint at the cyber police station in Ajmer Thursday that he was allegedly duped of more than Rs 21 lakh in a cyber fraud after scammers lured him with promises of high returns through stock market investments.The victim was identified as Moolchand Kewalani (74), a resident of Panchsheel.According to police, Kewalani received investment offers through mobile phone messages and WhatsApp. The accused allegedly claimed to be investment associates who were registered with SSEBI-registered and linked to a private bank’s securities firm. They persuaded him to invest in banking stocks.To gain his confidence, the fraudsters initially returned around Rs 3 lakh as profit on a small investment. Encouraged by the apparent returns, Kewalani subsequently transferred Rs 21.37 lakh from different bank accounts as directed by the accused.After some time, when he tried to contact them regarding the investment, their mobile phones were switched off. Repeated attempts to reach them failed, leading him to realise he had been cheated.The victim later discovered that the Rs 3 lakh credited to his account as profit was also frozen.Police have collected details of the bank accounts and mobile numbers used by the accused and are investigating the case.