Online fraud hits Santa Cruz resident, 71; Kolkata man held

Panaji: A 71-year-old resident of Santa Cruz has been cheated of over Rs 3 lakh by cyber fraudsters who allegedly offered him a free shopping deal on his credit card. Old Goa police have arrested one person in connection with the case.

North Goa SP Rahul Gupta said, “The complainant alleged that an unknown accused person called him on WhatsApp, introducing himself as Dipak Agarwal from Bank of Baroda, and offered a free shopping deal on the credit card, meant for retired employees.”

Gupta said, “The complainant received a WhatsApp video call and was induced to share his CVV number and OTP, resulting in an unauthorised transaction of over Rs 3 lakh.”

During the investigation, Gupta said, technical analysis of the gang narrowed the search down to Suman Ghughu, residing in Kolkata. “Further analysis revealed that the accused person took the money and transferred it to multiple bank accounts,” Gupta said.

A police station team from Old Goa proceeded to West Bengal to trace and arrest the accused person. The team kept a close watch on the accused, his activities, and movements for two days, Gupta said.

“Ghughu was apprehended and brought to Netaji Nagar police station, Kolkata, after a lengthy search with the assistance of local police,” Gupta said. “He was found giving vague answers and denying the digital evidence collected against him.”

The accused was produced before a Kolkata court, which directed transit remand for three days, Gupta said. “Ghughu was formally arrested at the Old Goa police station,” he said.

Gupta stated that the investigation is ongoing to trace the origin of the crime, recover the stolen amount, and identify other associates involved.