Hyderabad businessman duped of Rs 21, 500, promised providing labour

Hyderabad: A Hyderabad-based businessman was duped of Rs 21,500 by a gang who promised to provide labour for his company. The complainant, a 54-year-old businessman Sayana Sreenivasa Rao of Czech Colony, Sanath Nagar, Hyderabad, owns a company- Gayathri Packaging, in Pasha Mylaram.

A complaint has been registered at Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar Police Station limits.

According to the complainant, he received a call on March 11, 2023, at around 8:05 pm from a person who identified himself as 'Gopal. He promised to arrange seven labourers for his company, Gayathri Packaging, in Pasha Mylaram. Gopal then requested an advance payment for the labour, and after negotiation, Sreenivasa Rao agreed to pay Rs 18,000 from his cousin's UPI account and Rs 3,500 from his net banking account for traveling expenses.

However, after the transaction was completed, Gopal never showed up with the promised labourers, and Sreenivasa Rao was unable to contact him. He realised that he had been cheated.

To convince Sreenivasa Rao of their authenticity, Gopal also claimed to be at the railway station and even made him listen to train sounds. Later, Gopal said that some RPF police officers had caught the labourers as they did not have Aadhaar cards. He then asked Sreenivasa Rao for more money to resolve the issue and send the labourers to Hyderabad. Believing his story, Sreenivasa Rao sent the additional money and ultimately fell victim to the scam.

According to Inspector Saidulu of Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar Police Station, this indicates that the gang involved in the scam seems to be well-organised and experienced in defrauding people. He said that the complainant was also surprised to know how the gang came to know that on the need of labour for his packaging company.

A case has been registered under sections 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act-2008.