Daijiworld Media Network - Ponda

Ponda, Feb 12: At least ten interstate cyber fraudsters have allegedly duped two residents of Ponda of a total Rs 4.9 lac in separate incidents reported in the first week of February.

Both victims initially approached the cyber crime cell, which registered FIRs and later transferred the cases to Ponda police for further investigation.

In the first case, Anil Kumar Singh, who runs a transport business in Santacruz, Ponda, was allegedly cheated of Rs 2.8 lac. According to police, Singh was looking to hire trucks to transport goods from Mangaluru to Chhattisgarh. Taking advantage of this, around eight individuals posing as truck drivers contacted him and agreed to undertake the consignment delivery. They sought advance payments, which Singh transferred via UPI to multiple mobile numbers. However, none of the supposed drivers arrived to collect the goods, and Singh later realised he had been defrauded.

In a separate incident, Darsh Shinkre, a resident of Shantinagar in Ponda, was allegedly cheated of Rs 2.1 lac in a job scam. Police said a woman identifying herself as Priyanka Sharma contacted Shinkre over the phone, claiming to be a recruiter offering him a better position at a financial institution in Goa. After he showed interest, he was asked to pay various charges, including application, registration, and interview fees. The payments were made through UPI, after which the fraudsters stopped responding.

Ponda police have registered both cases under Section 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, against unidentified individuals. PSI Bansal Naik is leading the investigation.