Gandhinagar, Jan 24 Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi has said that a recent judgment by an Amreli court sentencing a Nigerian woman to seven years' imprisonment in a cyber fraud case was a clear warning to cybercrime offenders.
He asserted on Friday that no cyber criminal could evade the police, regardless of the sophistication of the crime.
Reacting to the court judgment, Deputy CM Sanghavi said, "The safety of citizens was the state government's foremost priority and that the Gujarat Police were fully equipped to tackle cyber crimes in an increasingly digital environment. The conviction reflected the effectiveness of Gujarat's zero-tolerance policy against cybercrime offences under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and demonstrated the force's ability to pursue offenders across state boundaries."
The court convicted the accused, Veronica Andrew Annika Lethabo, a Nigerian national, also known by the aliases Veronica Ucheoma Andrew and Annika Lethabo, for cheating a man of Rs 14.09 lakh by luring him with the promise of a 'surprise gift'.
She was awarded the maximum sentence of seven years' imprisonment along with a fine under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.
Minister of State for Law, Kaushik Vekaria, said, "The stringent punishment was possible due to a comprehensive investigation and effective presentation of evidence before the court."
He added that the case highlighted the importance of strong coordination between investigating agencies and the prosecution in securing convictions in complex cyber fraud matters.
According to the prosecution, the offence dates back to June 2023, when the accused contacted the complainant, Piyush Thummar, through Instagram, posing as a foreign friend.
The accused Nigerian woman claimed to be sending the complainant an expensive gift from London and later informed him that it had reached India.
To support the accused woman's claim, she sent emails purportedly from a courier service named 'Skye Elite Logistics' and communicated through multiple mobile numbers.
On the pretext of customs duty, income tax, currency conversion and other charges, the complainant was induced to transfer a total of Rs 14.09 lakh.
Despite making the payments, he did not receive any gift and subsequently lodged a complaint at the Amreli cybercrime police station on July 20, 2023.
The investigation involved a detailed technical analysis of digital footprints, call detail records and online login data, which led police to Gurugram in Haryana.
The accused was arrested there in May 2024.
Officials found that she had obtained a broadband connection using a forged passport and seized six mobile phones, a laptop and two fake passports from her possession.
Forensic reports confirmed email and WhatsApp communications between the accused and the complainant, while records obtained from banks and central agencies established that the documents used were forged.
Police said the accused had entered India on a 90-day medical visa and overstayed for more than five years.
A separate case related to visa overstay and use of forged travel documents is pending against the accused woman.
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