Mumbai doctor duped of ₹7.33 lakh by cyber fraudster posing as cop

Mumbai doctor duped of ₹7.33 lakh by cyber fraudster posing as police officer, case registered under IPC and IT Act.

A 27-year-old doctor of a civic-run hospital here was allegedly duped of ₹7.33 lakh by a cyber fraudster who posed as an officer of the Mumbai police, an official said on Saturday.

A case under sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating) and 465 (forgery) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act was registered against the unidentified accused last week, the official said.

The complainant, Dr Blessy Esther, a senior doctor at KEM Hospital, alleged that she received a phone call from an unknown number on February 29, and the caller identified himself as an employee of a courier company, he said.

The caller informed the woman that the authorities at the Mumbai airport had intercepted a parcel in her name containing five passports, three credit cards, 140 gm of mephedrone pills, clothes and a laptop, the official said.

As per the complaint, the call was allegedly transferred to the cyber police, who questioned the doctor and when she denied knowledge about the parcel, asked her to lodge a police complaint, he said.

The accused, posing as a police official, also initiated a video call with the complainant, during which she noticed the Mumbai police logo, the official said.