82-yr-old NRI cheated of Rs 32 lakh; 3 booked by Navi Mumbai police

Thane: An 82-year-old NRI staying with his son in Maharashtra's Navi Mumbai after return from Dubai has been allegedly cheated of Rs 32 lakh by three people who threatened to get him arrested for various offences, police said.

The accused contacted the victim several times between May 12 and 18, claiming offences had been registered against him on charges of involvement in anti-national activities, drug peddling and in the Pulwama attack, an official from Navi Mumbai's cyber police station said on Monday.

The accused told the victim that he would be arrested for these crimes. They sent fake documents claiming to be from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and a confidentiality agreement to him on WhatsApp and forced him to deposit Rs 32,13,305 in different bank accounts, he said.

Based on complaint by the victim on Sunday, the police registered an FIR against the three people under relevant Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections for cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, personation and criminal intimidation as well as provisions of the Information Technology Act, the official said.