Jaipur, March 3 A Karnataka resident, posing as a software engineer, was arrested for duping a man of Rs 1.76 crore by promising him i-phones at cheaper rates, police officials said here on Thursday.
Udaipur Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar said that on February 22, Dr Gautam, a resident of Hiltop Road, Ambamata, filed a complaint that he was duped of Rs 1.76 crore by a man during his Bangalore visit in July 2021. The man had introduced himself as an Apple employee and promised to get him i-phones at cheaper rates.
In his complaint, Gautam said that he visited his brother in Bangalore where he met one Akshay Patil who introduced himself as a software engineer with Apple.
Patil showed him an appointment letter and said he would get him i-phones and other devices at less than 30-40 per cent of the market rate which could be sold further.
Convinced by his words, the complainant transferred Rs 2 lakh into the accused's account on August 21, 2021 and after that, he kept depositing money as and when asked. On being inquired about the delay, the accused quoted some problems in the US. Later, he said that a consignment of Apple phones and devices would be coming to Mumbai and that people could invest in it.
Gautam's associates too paid Rs 40 lakh to the accused. When mobile phones and devices did not arrive, he questioned Patil only to get the same reply.
Patil then asked the complainant to buy phones from the Apple Store and promised to refund the extra money spent.
"Thus the accused fraudulently got 322 mobile phones and devices purchased from me. But when the money was not refunded, I got suspicious and went to Bangalore Apple Office on December 6, 2021 and found out there was no employee by this name. Then I came to know that the accused had fraudulently taken Rs 1,76,97,365 via bank and credit cards from me," Gautam said .
Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar directed for the early arrest of the accused. A police team went to Karnataka and detained Patil.
Further investigations are on.
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