Kanpur: The Nazirabad police have arrested a husband-wife duo for allegedly swindling Rs 95 lakh from a retired junior engineer of the Police Housing Construction Corporation (PHCC) over a period of nine years. The accused posed as a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officer and promised refunds on 22 lapsed insurance policies.
Details of the Fraud
DCP Central Atul Kumar Shrivastava stated that the victim, Jitendra Kumar Shrivastava, a resident of Shardanagar, served as a junior engineer in the PHCC and retired in 2022. He had approximately 28 insurance policies, of which 22 had lapsed due to non-payment of installments.
In 2017, while searching on Google for ways to obtain refunds on the lapsed policies, he came across a website that resembled the RBI website and a mobile number. Upon calling the number, a man introduced himself as the general manager of RBI and provided him with a fake RBI notice. The police said that the accused later gave the retired engineer a fake RBI letter to further deceive him.
How the Money Was Transferred
Police revealed that to reactivate the lapsed policies, the accused convinced the retired engineer to transfer Rs 95 lakh over nine years into his own and his wife's bank accounts. The investigation showed that Rs 15 lakh of the swindled money was transferred to the wife's account, while the remaining amount went to the accused's account. The accused allegedly used the money to purchase an XUV car and an iPhone 15.
When the policy premium refund was not received even after paying the money, the engineer filed a complaint with the cyber cell on May 10. Following this, a team comprising cyber cell in-charge Sub-Inspector Tanuj Sirohi and SWAT in-charge Shivkumar Sharma began the investigation.
Arrest and Seizures
Shrivastava said that the victim called the accused and summoned him near JK Mandir Nahariya on the evening of May 25 to return the money, where the Nazirabad police arrested the man and his wife. During interrogation, they identified themselves as Deepak Singh, a resident of Alimuddinpur Gidhona in Sultanpur, and Aanchal, a resident of Shahganj in Jaunpur.
Police said the investigation revealed that Deepak created a phishing website of RBI in 2017 and, after deceiving the retired engineer, shut down the phishing site and remained in contact with him by phone. An XUV 3XO car, iPhone 15, VIVO mobile, laptop, cheque book, and other electronic devices were seized from the accused.
Accused's Statement
During a press conference, Deepak claimed that he had spoken to the retired engineer over the phone in 2022-23 and that he had not created any website. He said the retired engineer had called him. Deepak stated that the retired engineer wanted a refund of his policy premium, for which he had introduced himself as a manager of the Reserve Bank of India.
Deepak also said that he had transferred money from his account to his wife's account. When his wife asked where the money came from, he told her that his friends were transferring money to him for his medical treatment.
