The Chittoor police have arrested two persons, both hailing from West Bengal, on charge of duping a woman from Nagari of ₹27 lakh in an online fraud.
The police said Radha, a homemaker from Nagari, received a phone call relating to a gift offer from an online store in November 2021. The caller told Radha that she would get a gift worth ₹25 lakh from the store, if she deposited a nominal amount. The woman was made to deposit ₹27 lakh into various bank accounts between November 2021 and January 2022. Realising that she had paid more than the gift amount, the woman lodged a compliant with the Nagari police on March 4, 2022.
Superintendent of Police Y. Rishant Reddy had formed a special team to crack the case. “After a six-month-long investigation, the special team arrested the prime accused Shankar Mandal (32) from Kalna in West Bengal on October 1. He was brought to Chittoor on a transit warrant. Acting on the information provided by Shankar, a special team arrested his accomplice Pintur Sardar (36) from Chennai on October 14. The team recovered ₹10.8 lakhs from Sardar, besides freezing bank accounts with savings of ₹6.3 lakh,” Deputy SP (Law and Order) N. Sudhakar Reddy told the media.
Nagari Urban Inspector Srinivasanthi said four more accused from West Bengal, including two women, were at large. Special teams have been formed to trace them.
