Police bust racket accused of duping senior citizen by enticing him with ‘bumper prize’

The Ernakulam Rural police busted an eight-member gang of migrants accused of cheating a senior citizen of lakhs of rupees by convincing him that he had won many prizes and gift vouchers while buying a car.

The Nedumbassery police caught the accused from Edathala. Among the accused, four are from Delhi, three from Uttar Pradesh, and one from West Bengal.

The 61-year-old man from Kadungalloor was allegedly duped by the gang by convincing him that he had won special discount packages for family trips to European countries along with gift vouchers. The gang contacted him over the phone and demanded ₹6.01 lakh, claiming that it was required to avail the “bumper offer”.

They reportedly told him to pay ₹3 lakh in advance, assuring that further discounts would be available if he did so. Based on this, the victim paid ₹1.50 lakh. A meeting in this connection was held at a hotel in Nedumbassery. The victim lodged a police complaint after the ‘bumper offer’ was not forthcoming even after making the payment.

The investigation team included Inspector R. Rajesh, sub-inspectors S.S. Sreelal and Anoop T., and senior civil police officer V.P. Jinto.