GURUGRAM: Love is blind. It can be an expensive affair too. This realisation dawned on a 66-year-old former banker late, only after he lost Rs 35 lakh to a ‘Facebook friend’ who claimed she was travelling from London to India only to meet him.
The retired bank official, who lives in the DLF 1 area, not only gave away Rs 13 lakh of his savings but also took a loan of Rs 22 lakh from private lenders to help out his newly found girlfriend, who claimed she had been detained at Mumbai airport by immigrations officials for lack of documents.
It all started on May 19 when the man, still a bachelor, received a friend request from a woman, who introduced herself as Jenny Anderson, on Facebook. He accepted it.
During casual chats on Facebook, the woman asked for his WhatsApp number. Soon they started chatting on WhatsApp.
“Jenny claimed she was single and lived with her mother in London, where she also owned a jewellery shop. Further, she said she travelled to different countries, including India, often to procure gold,” the man alleged.
On May 26, the woman told him that she was planning to celebrate the 11th anniversary of her shop and she wanted to invite him for the same. She also asked for his home address, saying she wanted to send him some gifts. He shared his address but expressed his inability to travel to London as he was alone.
A few days later, on May 29, Jenny informed him on WhatsApp that she was coming to India. “Jenny said she would board the flight on June 1. She further said she would land in Mumbai and then take a connecting flight to Delhi, where she was supposed stay for a week before leaving for Dubai,” he told police.
Jenny further said the main reason behind her visit to India was to meet him, apart from procuring gold ornaments for her showroom. “Can I stay at your house? She asked me on WhatsApp and shared her photo boarding the flight,” he claimed.
On June 1, he received a call from a woman, who claimed she was Pooja from the immigrations department at Mumbai airport. Pooja said Jenny Anderson from the UK had landed in Mumbai but she was not allowed to take the flight to Delhi as she had failed to comply with two mandatory requirements. First, Jenny was carrying foreign currency (British pound) worth Rs 68 lakh without any valid documents (to indicate the source of the money) and second, she was not carrying a health certificate, the caller told the retired banker.
Pooja then handed the phone to Jenny, who started crying and requested him to pay the fine as she had no other contact in India. Jenny asked him to take loan and promised to return the money. He said Pooja, and later another man claimed to be Kumar Sen from the Delhi airport authority, kept calling him over the next few days. The duo threatened to file a case against him for Jenny’s offence.
The old man eventually made over 20 transaction and deposited Rs 35 lakh to different bank account numbers provided by Jenny between June 1 and June 15. But Jenny never came to visit him.
Finally, after all his attempts to reach out to her on Facebook, WhatsApp and phone failed, he filed a complaint at DLF 1 police station earlier this week.
“We have received a complaint in this regard and are probing the case with help from the cyber crime cell,” said a senior officer at DLF 1 police station.
courtesy : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
