Delhi: How govt employee duped colleague of Rs 24 lakh — splurged on 2 iPhones, motorcycle, laptop
According to police, the financial trail revealed that Rs 16.05 lakh from Kumar’s wife’s account had been transferred to the account of a man in Kolkata
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The 59-year-old, who is nearing retirement, was getting his passbook updated when he noticed several large transactions on his and his wife’s accountsA routine visit to the bank turned into a nightmare for Surender Kumar, posted as the chief household assistant in the President’s Estate.
The 59-year-old, who is nearing retirement, was getting his passbook updated when he noticed several large transactions on his and his wife’s accounts. When he asked the bank for clarity, he was told that the transactions were all done through a UPI app. But Kumar had never installed a UPI app on his phone.
Kumar subsequently lodged a complaint, and police said they registered a case under Section 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It later turned out his own colleague was stealing from him — a total of Rs 24 lakh — said police.
According to police, the financial trail revealed that Rs 16.05 lakh from Kumar’s wife’s account had been transferred to the account of a man in Kolkata. Rs 4 lakh from Kumar’s account had been sent to the same man’s account as well, but the latter had transferred the amount to another account, said police.
Police traced the account holder and arrested the culprit.
“The police team apprehended the man from Kolkata. During questioning, he admitted to receiving the fraudulent money on behalf of his associate, Prakash Singh, in exchange for a 2-3% commission. Based on his disclosure and technical surveillance, Prakash Singh was identified and arrested,” said DCP (New Delhi) Devesh Kumar Mahla.
It turned out that Singh was working in the same department as the victim and often had access to Kumar’s phone, said police.
Exploiting the fact that his colleague was not technologically adept, Singh installed a UPI app on Kumar’s phone and allegedly transferred the amount. Singh would allegedly transfer Rs 1 lakh each time, every three to four days, said police, and would delete the transaction alert messages and the app before returning the phone to Kumar.
Singh then used the money to buy himself two iPhones, a motorcycle, a laptop and a myriad other household items. He also spent Rs 2.25 lakh on online games on his phone, and even used some of the money to travel. He spent the remainder to pay off debts he owed to his friends and colleagues, said police.
Police could recover only Rs 2.25 lakh of the stolen amount.
The police have advised senior citizens unfamiliar with digital banking to exercise caution while using smartphones and financial apps. Additionally, citizens are advised to never share their phones, banking credentials or OTPs with anyone, including colleagues or acquaintances, and to regularly monitor bank statements and SMS alerts.
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