Surat: Kapodra police booked unidentified persons for allegedly cheating a diamond polisher of Rs 4.16 lakh using the lure of Rs 25 lakh prize money of a “Kaun Banega Crorepati lucky draw”. When the victim called to claim the prize money, he was threatened by the accused. Police booked nine persons based on deposits made in their accounts by the complainant, Mayur Desai, a resident of Nana Varachha area. Police are not sure if the bank accounts were based on the real names of the accused or had been opened using forged identity papers.Desai, a native of Chittal village in Amreli district, moved to the city for work a few years ago. He received a call from some unidentified persons on his mobile on June 26, informing him that he had won a Rs 25 lakh prize in a “Kaun Banega Crorepati lucky draw”. The caller told Desai he would have to pay fees to receive the prize money.Once Desai agreed to pay fees, the caller instructed him to pay money into various bank accounts on the pretext of various charges and taxes. The victim deposited money in nine different transactions, in nine different accounts in the State Bank of India as instructed by the the accused over the phone.“The caller told the victim not to discuss the prize with anyone or he would face problems. Desai kept quiet initially and continued depositing money as instructed,” said a Kapodra police officer.When Desai did not get the prize money despite paying Rs 4.16 lakh, he called the accused but was threatened. The accused refused to give him the Rs 25 lakh and told him to do whatever he could.Desai told police that the money paid came from his savings over the last few months.

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