Woman suspects fraud in oil purchase, loses Rs 2.45 lakh

UDUPI: A woman running a cashew oil unit in Kundapur was allegedly cheated of over Rs 2.45 lakh after a man posing as a Yelahanka BSF purchasing officer placed an order for 30 tonnes of oil and collected money online under the pretext of generating a gate pass and security deposit.Complainant Veena, 56, said that in the first week of August, a person named Kunal Chaudhary called her and informed her that, on behalf of the Yelahanka BSF Purchaser’s Office, they required 5 barrels (1 ton) of oil. The complainant told him that it was not possible to send just one ton and that if they needed five tons, she could send the oil in a tanker. The accused said he would speak to his superiors and inform her. Two days later, he called back and asked her to send 30 tons of oil.Accordingly, on August 14, about 30 tonnes of oil were filled in a tanker and dispatched to an address in Bengaluru. The accused then called again and said, “Tomorrow is August 15 – a holiday. The gate pass must be made online quickly; if it is not generated, the payment will be delayed by 2–3 days,” and asked her to transfer Rs 5 to initiate the gate pass process. The complainant transferred Rs 5 from her son’s bank account.

She then received Rs 10 from the accused.After that, the accused called again and asked her to send a security deposit of Rs 2.5 lakh. As the complainant was in a meeting in Delhi, she immediately transferred a total of Rs 2,45,486. Suspecting foul play, she also called 1930 and lodged a complaint regarding the incident.Kota Police Station registered a case under Section 66(D) of the IT Act.