2 days ago
Conmen siphon 21L from New Town man
Kolkata: A New Town resident fell victim to a cyber investment fraud, losing Rs 21,40,700 through a modus operandi that mimicked legitimate financial services.
The scam started when Bhanja Kishore Mohanty, a resident of Action Area-III, clicked an Instagram link that eventually added him to a WhatsApp group aimed at "wealth generation".
The group was allegedly led by one Ashish Kehair, who claimed to be the managing director, with an assistant named Kangna Sharma, the managing operations.
The fraudsters orchestrated an elaborate scheme involving block trading, preferential allotments, and IPO investments. To establish credibility, they allowed Mohanty to withdraw Rs 2,000 early in the scheme.
Between April 7 and May 21, Mohanty made multiple investments. The fraud came to light when he attempted to withdraw Rs 5 lakh on May 5 after a supposed IPO sale. A similar withdrawal attempt on May 22 led to the same result. "The withdrawal was rejected, and the scammers demanded an additional 'commission' of Rs 29 lakh followed by a 'subscription service charge' of Rs 28 lakh," said a cop.
"They asked me to pay upfront and refused to adjust them against my invested funds," said Mohanty. "When I questioned this, they stopped responding."
