A 45-YEAR-OLD businessman, Rajesh Singh, of Chandigarh has been cheated out of Rs 10.07 lakh by an organised gang of online fraudsters, who trapped him posing as members of a London-based multinational pharmaceutical company. They asked him to procure samples of a herbal medicine from a Maharashtra-based company which, they said, would be used in curing cancer and HIV. The cheating took place in the month of December 2016 and an FIR was lodged on Friday. Sources in the cyber cell said, “Some of the members of gang have been arrested at Bikaner in a joint operation of Rajasthan and Chandigarh Police, and they will be brought to Chandigarh in the coming days.” The victim, Rajesh Singh, came in contact of one of the fraudsters, Dr Smith Walter, who introduced himself as a scientist working with Britannia Pharmaceutical Ltd in London through Facebook in October 2016. Rajesh Singh told Chandigarh Newsline, “Dr Smith, who later turned to be a fictitious identity during the police probe, and I exchanged cell phone and WhatsApp numbers over the Facebook. He trapped me saying that he deals in herbal medicines and wanted to contact a Mahrashtra-based company, which manufactures herbal seeds, including oil, which can be used in the medicines for cancer and HIV.” The victim maintained that Dr Smith provided him the address and contact number of one Rajesh Sharma, who runs the herbal medicine company at Amravati in Maharashtra, and asked him to purchase herbal seeds samples from him and send these samples to his company’s address in London. Police sources said when Rajesh Singh contacted Rajesh Sharma over the phone, the latter asked the victim to first deposit Rs 5 lakh in his account and then he would be able to send some samples to him. The victim deposited the cash in the account of Sharma, who did not send any samples. Later, Sharma again demanded Rs 5.07 lakh from Singh, and the victim again deposited the money in the account of Sharma. In the meantime, when Rajesh Singh became suspicious about the scientist and Maharashtra-based herbal company, he contacted UK Embassy, which denied that Britannia Pharmaceutical Company dealt in such practices. The victim also visited Amravati, Maharashtra, and found there was nothing on the address which was provided by Rajesh Sharma. Police said Rajesh Sharma is also a fictitious identity and the racket is being operated from inside India. A case was registered at Sector 17 police station. Inspector Harinder Singh Sekhon said, “Some of the gang members, who are all Indians, were arrested at Bikaner and they will be brought to Chandigarh shortly.” For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App now

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