Srinagar: Two charged for duping man of lakhs in fake UK prize scam

Kashmir's Economic Offences Wing has charged Jitu Raj Johari and Suresh Thakur for a fake prize scam. The duo allegedly duped a person of lakhs of rupees by falsely claiming he had won a Rs 2.35 crore prize and a car from a UK company.

EOW Kashmir Charges Two in Fake Prize Scam

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Kashmir has filed a chargesheet against two individuals, Jitu Raj Johari and Suresh Thakur, for their involvement in a fake international prize scam, according to an official press release.

The duo allegedly duped a complainant of lakhs of rupees by claiming he had won a prize of Rs. 2.35 crore and a car from M/s Chevrolet Motors Promotion Limited, UK.

Details of the Elaborate Scam

According to the release, the scam involved the complainant receiving a phone call and subsequent emails instructing him to deposit funds into a bank account and to subsequently open an account with the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The accused used fake identities, including "Frank Ban" and email IDs cheprom@liv.co.uk and frankban@diplomats.com, to mislead the complainant The EOW Kashmir has presented the chargesheet before the City Munsif (JMIC) Srinagar, under Section 420 RPC read with Section 66(d) of the IT Act.

The investigation was initiated following receipt of a complaint by the agency, in which the complainant stated that he was lured by a fraudulent phone call purporting to offer him a prize of Rs 2.35 crore, along with a car, from a UK-based car company.

Initial Deposit and Further Demands

To claim the said prize, the caller directed the complainant to communicate via an email address. During subsequent email correspondence, the complainant was asked to deposit an amount as customs duty into a bank account maintained in the name of Jitu Raj Johari at the SBI Branch, Sarai Khawja, it added.

After depositing the said amount, the complainant received another email instructing him to open an account in the Royal Bank of Scotland and to deposit an additional amount as Charges of Transfer (COT) through an NSG agency. The complainant obtained the required amount from various sources and deposited it as instructed. However, no prize money was ever transferred to his account.

Investigation and Legal Action

The caller, who identified himself as "Frank Ban" and used the email address, continued to mislead the complainant, according to the release.

The probe conclusively revealed that Jitu Raj Johari, son of Anand Kumar Johari, resident of Faridabad (Haryana), and Suresh Thakur, son of Ramesh Thakur, resident of Akhara Ghat Giromail, Muzaffarabad, and presently residing at Shakurpur, Delhi, were actively involved in the commission of the offence and had fraudulently and dishonestly duped the complainant of lakhs of rupees.

Based on oral, documentary, and corroborative evidence collected during the course of the investigation, offences under the relevant provisions of law were established against the accused persons, as per the release.

Accordingly, the case has been proved, and the chargesheet has been presented before the competent court for judicial adjudication. (ANI)

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