A complaint was lodged by a 61-year-old retired principal from an institute in Hosapete, alleging fraud amounting to Rs 45,80,300 by an individual posing as a representative based in Mumbai on September 30. The victim, Nagendrappa, fell prey to the con artist’s promises of securing a dealership with a private gas company.
In his official complaint, Nagendrappa registered a First Information Report (FIR) with both the Kottur police station in Vijayanagara district and the local cybercrime police station. The charges included violations of the IT Act 2008 and IPC section 420.
Nagendrappa, who was left emotionally distraught and financially drained, lamented, “I have nothing with me now. I have transferred all the money I had, in the hope that I would get the dealership of Go Gas and make good money through the business in my village.”
Providing further details, Nagendrappa explained that he had initially discovered an opportunity for a Go Gas company dealership in Karnataka, which was purportedly based in Mumbai. After reaching out to the provided contact number on August 21, a person claiming to be Shashikanth Tiwari from Mumbai guided him to transfer significant sums of money through RTGS for various reasons, such as obtaining an NOC and permits. This continued for about a month, with Nagendrappa being repeatedly assured that each transaction would be the last. However, on September 22, he transferred over Rs 5 lakh as the “final instalment,” after which the caller’s phone number became unreachable.
For an entire week, Nagendrappa tirelessly attempted to contact the same number from which Tiwari had communicated, but it remained switched off. He eventually realized he had fallen victim to a scam and sought assistance from law enforcement. Nagendrappa expressed confidence in the police’s commitment to tracking down the fraudster using the bank account associated with the fraudulent transactions.