The Kamothe police has booked a man who posed as an Army officer on OLX and cheated a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) staffer of ₹26,025.
The complainant Petras Borade (32) was trying to purchase a phone for ₹8,000 from one Vikas Patel, an Indian Army personnel, who managed to convince him to make eight transactions claiming the payment was not in the correct format.
The case was registered on May 27.
Mr. Patel agreed to sell the phone for ₹8,000 and also asked for ₹550 as courier charges. Mr. Borade paid ₹3,450 for the phone as partial instalment along with courier charges.
Soon after, a person identifying himself as Navinsingh Tomar, got in touch with Mr. Borade and told him Indian Army did not accept the amount in such a format, and instructed him to pay ₹3,725, promising refund of the previous payments.
Later, Mr. Tomar told him to pay an additional ₹5,150 as security charges. Mr. Borade borrowed from a friend to pay this. Two more demands for payment of various amounts were made and Mr. Borade again borrowed from another friend.
After shelling out ₹26,025, when Mr. Tomar asked him to pay another ₹10,000, Mr. Borade realised he was being cheated, and approached the police. “We have registered a case of cheating, and under sections of IT Act,” said an officer from Kamothe police station.
