Teacher among 2 duped in separate cyber fraud incidents in S Dinajpur

BALURGHAT: Two separate cases of cyber fraud have surfaced in South Dinajpur, leaving victims financially devastated and highlighting the growing menace of online scams.

In the first case, Zakir Sarkar, a schoolteacher, lost nearly Rs 16 lakh after falling prey to an online investment scam. On July 24, he came across a Facebook advertisement promoting “stock market learning.” After clicking on it, he was contacted by a man named Rajiv, who introduced him to his associate, Tanvi Deshpande. Through WhatsApp conversations, Tanvi persuaded him to invest in “Premji Investment Equity Fund” and guided him to download a mobile application to create an account.

Trusting the fraudsters, Sarkar transferred over Rs 15.5 lakh in phases via different bank accounts. The application later displayed a balance of

Rs 23 lakh and informed him that he had received an IPO worth nearly Rs 45 lakh. However, he was asked to deposit more money to access the funds, which grew his suspicion, and Sarkar lodged a written complaint at South Dinajpur Cyber Crime Police Station. DSP (HQ) Bikram Prasad stated: “We constantly try to alert people through awareness drives in institutions and social media.

We also guide victims on the necessary steps to take when duped.” In another incident, Bappa Burman, a youth from Gutin in Balurghat block, was cheated of Rs 2 lakh with the false promise of a Home Guard job. Burman had met a man named Indrajit Bhattacharya while travelling on a train.

After some days, Bhattacharya repeatedly called him, claiming his recruitment was confirmed and asked him to visit Bhawani Bhavan in Kolkata.

On August 5, Burman was taken to a room by an unidentified woman, where his documents were collected. Later, he was asked to pay Rs 2 lakh as security and training fees, which Burman deposited in instalments. Though a joining letter was emailed to him, he received no official confirmation and the contact numbers provided to him were found switched off. Realising the fraud, he approached the cybercrime police.

South Dinajpur SP Chinmay Mittal confirmed: “A case has been registered, and investigations are underway.”