Conman dupes Dimapur businessman of INR 10 lakh

Eastern Mirror Desk Dimapur, Oct. 17: The Dimapur Police arrested a 35-year-old man last week for duping a Dimapur-based businessman of INR 10 lakh. The accused named Ashutosh Srivastava from Delhi was arrested from Danapur in Patna with the help of Railway Protection Force after a complaint was lodged on Aug. 21 by the victim, a Dimapur-based Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) contactor and businessman. According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) and PRO Dimapur Police, Srivastava impersonated as the Divisional Railway Manager's (DRM) son and established rapport with the complainant through a local contact. As per the complainant's version to the Dimapur police, the accused named Srivastava had a meeting with him earlier this year in Dimapur, and to gain his confidence and trust, he had handed him his identity documents and a cheque of INR 10 lakh as security. After the meeting, the accused was reported to have left for Delhi and reportedly emailed details of four IRCTC tender bids worth INR 56 lakh, which turned out to be fake. Interestingly, the contract included 'Railway Neer' bottling plant and accordingly the complainant deposited an amount of INR 10 lakh into the account of the accused. After getting suspicious, the complainant through contacts with IRCTC in Delhi, discovered that the whole affair was a scam and the cheque of INR 10 lakh handed over by the accused in their first meeting as security was a sham. The victim then lodged a complaint at West Police station in Dimapur on Aug. 21 which led to Srivastava’s arrest on Oct. 8. It was found out during the interrogation that Srivastava was into event management and IRCTC contracts for a short period, said PRO, adding that there are six similar cases — two each in Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh, and one each in Delhi and Chhattisgarh — worth INR 2 cr are pending against him and the Dimapur Police will investigate into this aspect including the identity documents that he had given to the victim. The accused was brought to Nagaland on Oct. 9 and is said to be under the custody of Dimapur Police.