Udupi: In yet another digital scam, a 48-year-old man from Karnataka was duped into losing a staggering Rs 46.92 lakh in an online fraud disguised as a share market investment scheme.

The victim, identified as Avinash from Kundapur, lodged a complaint after realising he had been duped by fraudsters. He was added to a WhatsApp group named "Surendra VIP Free Bull Stock Sharing Group-X98" on September 17 and the group claimed to offer lucrative opportunities for earning profits through stock market investments, as reported by Deccan Herald on Monday. Trusting the group's promises, Avinash followed their advice and opened a ‘Zerodha D-mat account’ to start his investment journey.

Initially, Avinash invested Rs 10,000 as per the group's instructions. However, the scammers soon directed him to another demat account, "EMCEE – Invest Group Inc," and encouraged him to invest larger amounts. Believing in the potential for returns, Avinash transferred a total of Rs 46.92 lakh from his bank account to various accounts provided by unknown individuals.

The transactions were made via Google Pay and online banking in phased payments.

Avinash mentioned in the complaint that despite the significant sums invested, he never received any returns or profits, and the fraudsters failed to refund the amount, leading to massive financial loss.

After realising he had been scammed, Avinash filed a complaint to the CEN station in Udupi.

A case has been registered under Sections 66 (C), 66 (D) of IT Act and section 318 (4) of BNS act.

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Bengaluru: Channapatna JD(S) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who lost the byelection to C.P. Yogeshwar of Congress, on Sunday consoled a fan who reportedly attempted to end his life and requested him not to repeat such acts.

Manjunath, fondly called Abhi, had even penned a letter before taking the dangerous step. Nikhil, who called on Manjunath at the latter’s home in Kudloor in Channapatna, expressed shock and sadness over the incident.
Nikhil Kumaraswamy reassured Manjunath, expressing his support during the difficult time. He told him that he was deeply troubled to learn of this incident and emphasised that he would stand by him. Nikhil also promised to offer assistance in any way he could, including helping him secure employment opportunities in the future, as reported by the Deccan Herald.

He also reminded Manjunath of the importance of his children’s well-being, urging him to focus on their future. “Please, look at the faces of your growing children. Even I have a three-year-old son. The children are young, let us take care of their future also. I will arrange some job opportunities for you. I might not be an MLA but this is a challenge. I will get you employed,” he said.

Nikhil told media persons that he is extremely hurt more by Manjunath’s attempt to die than by his loss in the election. “At 7:30 a.m., we got a message that in Valetoopu, Manjunath had consumed poison yesterday. In Channapatna, our workers and leaders have built this party with zeal. Let the admiration be there in your hearts but if it crosses the line, your families get hurt and we get very pained by it,” he was quoted as saying by the publication.

Speaking of his byelection loss, Nikhil reiterated that the JD(S) had got its traditional votes, but that the votes of a particular community went against the party.

“Deve Gowda gave reservation to a community. We tried our last attempt to take that community into confidence. But they conveyed to us that they do not require us. In future, we will take other communities into confidence,” he remarked in a veiled reference to Muslims.

Nikhil lost the election by a margin of 25,413 votes to Congress candidate C.P. Yogeshwar.

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