Mumbai: A man was scammed of at least Rs 90.9 lakh under the pretext of purchasing shares in Mumbai. According to Rajesh Lakshminarayan Dubey, a scriptwriter in the TV industry, he was included in a WhatsApp group whose members talked keenly about shares and after piquing his interest, he was scammed into depositing lakhs of rupees, after which he filed a police complaint.
Describing his ordeal, Dubey said he contacted a woman named Ritu Vohora who was guiding people in purchasing shares. Communicating via the Telegram platform, the woman asked for his Aadhaar card and photo and told him to download an app on his phone. He was then redirected to another person named Lokendra, who gave him an account where Dubey deposited Rs 1 lakh.
Dubey then started buying and selling shares through the app, depositing Rs 15 lakh for a profit of Rs 3.5 lakh. However, after being unable to withdraw the money, he contacted Ritu, who told him to apply for a Rs 1 lakh-worth share, asked for his IFSC and transferred the money into his account. Believing them to be genuine, he subscribed to a new IPO of Kay Cee Energy and Infra Ltd on their recommendation, being promised a 30 per cent profit.
However, Dubey was later told that he would have to buy whichever share was allotted to him as he had subscribed for several shares, and soon enough, he was informed that he had been allotted a share worth Rs 51 lakh. After he told Ritu that he did not have the money, Dubey was told that his account would be frozen. As he was unable to pay the money, his account was indeed frozen.
He then borrowed money and deposited Rs 33 lakh, after which Ritu told him that he needed to deposit Rs 15 lakh more. He again borrowed the money and paid the amount. After this, Ritu informed him that the company would loan him Rs 20 lakh to purchase shares and when the IPO opened, he would be able to earn Rs 3 crore. After two days, Dubey saw he had earned Rs 3 crore, but failed to sell it as he was 'required' to pay off the loan amount and the account was frozen.
Dubey once again arranged money and paid Rs 20 lakh and sold the share, after which he saw Rs 3.9 crore. However, he failed to withdraw the money as the manager said he needed to pay for account handling charges, which were Rs 6.8 lakh. After paying this amount, he was again asked to pay Rs 3 lakh for security fees. Realising that he was conned, Dubey filed a complaint at Oshiwara police station and was redirected to BKC Cyber Crime police.
The victim named Vijay Ramavat, who was providing information about shares on the WhatsApp group, as the accused along with his assistant Ritu. The police is currently investigating the case.
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