6.45 लाख रुपए की ठगी, प्रतिकात्मक फोटो (Photo Source- magnific)

Rs 6.45 lakh fraud, representative photo (Photo Source: Magnific)

Bhopal: A city resident has told police that Rs 6.45 lakh was lost in a cyber fraud after a caller posed as an acquaintance named Rakesh Kumar and gained the resident's trust.

The complainant said a call came from an unknown number on 25 December 2025. The caller gave the name Rakesh Kumar.

At the caller's instruction, the complainant broke a fixed deposit (FD) and sent Rs 4.45 lakh by RTGS to a private company's account. The complainant had no information about the company.

A few days later, the complainant phoned the number to ask for the money back and to enquire after Rakesh. The number was switched off. The complainant then suspected that the mobile phone had been hacked.

On updating the bank passbook, the complainant found two transactions of Rs 1 lakh each, made on 26 and 27 December. The complainant told police that neither the transactions nor any transfer to an acquaintance had been made by them.

The two debits, along with the Rs 4.45 lakh transfer, make up the Rs 6.45 lakh loss.

Electricity Meter KYC Pretext: Rs 1.94 Lakh Debited

Another resident, Roop Singh Rajput of Lumbini Parisar in Ambedkar Nagar, told police that Rs 1.94 lakh was debited from his Bank of Baroda account after callers spoke of updating his electricity meter's Know Your Customer (KYC) details.

Rajput said his wife received calls from two different numbers on 18 February. The caller gave details of the house and the electricity meter.

The caller then contacted Rajput and sent an APK (Android app) file on WhatsApp. He opened it, and an option to pay Rs 12 appeared. He said he made no payment.

On 24 February, at around 11 am, Rs 99,000 was debited from his account without any action from him, Rajput said. Another Rs 95,000 was debited the next day.

Caller Says Money Was Sent by Mistake

Amarnath Yadav, 66, a resident of New TT Nagar Colony in Neelbad, told police he received a call on 1 October. The caller gave the name Shri Guruji.

The caller said Rs 16,700 had been sent by mistake to Yadav's mobile number.

At the caller's request, Yadav first sent Re 1 to check the account. He then sent Rs 9,999 and Rs 6,700. Some time later, the caller phoned again and asked him to send another Rs 11,700.

Video Call Four Days Later

On 5 October, Yadav received a video call from another number. The caller claimed to be a cyber police employee and said the person behind the fraud had been caught.

The caller said the money would be returned, but that Yadav's account was on hold and another person's account number was needed.

Yadav gave the SBI account number of his daughter-in-law. Rs 48,400 was then withdrawn from her account, according to the complaint.

Suspecting fraud, Yadav complained to cyber police. Ratibad police have registered a case and begun action against the mobile number holder identified as Shri Guruji, under Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).