Ahmedabad: Caller posing as angadia operator dupes trader of ₹50L

Ahmedabad: Cyberfraudsters posing as representatives of an angadia firm allegedly cheated a Punjab businessman of Rs 50 lakh through fake payment instructions and cash deliveries.The fraud began when a man identifying himself as “Satyendra Jain” from an angadia firm in Ahmedabad called the complainant’s nephew regarding a Rs 10 lakh payment.The caller later obtained the contact details of the complainant and his friend, an angadia operator in Bathinda. Using the complainant’s reference, the fraudster gained the confidence of the Punjab businessman and claimed he urgently needed funds in Ahmedabad.The businessman arranged cash deliveries through angadia channels. A total of Rs 85 lakh was booked for delivery at Bapunagar, Narol and Anand.Of this amount, Rs 50 lakh was delivered at an angadia office in Bapunagar. The businessman’s relatives collected the cash. Following instructions from the fraudster, they handed over Rs 15 lakh to a person sent by him and retained Rs 35 lakh.Later, the Punjab businessman discovered that recipients at other locations had already collected cash. When he tried contacting the caller and other numbers provided for token verification, all phones were switched off.Police said the accused used multiple mobile numbers and a fabricated identity to execute the fraud. Crime branch lodged a complaint of cheating and criminal conspiracy under the BNS.